


30 Day McDanno Challenge

by Erandri



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Alternate Universe, Baker Danny, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Family Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt Danny, Kinda, Love Confessions, M/M, Matchmaker Grace, Moving In Together, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pre-Slash, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-04 12:28:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 36,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5334122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erandri/pseuds/Erandri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My take on Stellarmeadow's 30 Day McDanno Prompt. Not all tags apply to all chapters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Going Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Danny suggested that Steve go grocery shopping with him and Grace, he never expected this.

“That’ll be three dollars,” the guy manning the table that Steve is buying tomatoes at says, pulling him out of the seemingly perpetual state of confusion that he’s been in for the last hour or so. When Danny suggested that Steve go grocery shopping with him and Grace, he never expected to be shepherded out of his house at seven in the morning by an excited Grace to go to the local farmers market. For one, Danny never woke up this early on a weekend willingly and second, he didn’t even know Danny knew what a farmers market was. Granted, an hour ago he had half a mind that Danny bought the majority of his food from greasy spoons and other fast food places.

Yet here he was, just outside of Diamond Head paying for the ripest bunch of tomatoes he has ever seen while Danny and Grace stand at the next stall inspecting bread so fresh from the oven it's still warm. He glances over at the duo, Grace perched on top of Danny’s shoulders pointing at things for him to buy while he chats with the elderly lady behind the table and can't help but smile. After a second, the old lady hands over a roll which Danny splits in half with Grace and their faces absolutely light up when they bite into the bread. Steve has to drag his gaze away from the sight to accept the change for his tomatoes. He pockets it as he overhears Danny ask for more of whatever the lady had given him.

He makes his way to Danny and once again tries to wrap his head around the concept of Danny shopping at a farmers market, and not only that but _regularly_ shopping at a farmers market. That was if the re-useable cloth bags and friendly greetings from the vendors gave him an accurate indication of the frequency of Danny’s visits. He pushes his way through a group of people who appear to be tourists who have wandered too far away from the park, earning a couple of nasty glares for his efforts, and catches up to Danny just as he pays for the rolls.

“You want some?” Danny asks, mouth still half full, and hands out the same piece of bread that he just took a bite from. Steve eyes the roll for a second before leaning down and taking a bite. He can’t help the moan as the flavors hit his tongue. "You know you could have just ripped a piece off," Danny says, a hint of pink on his cheeks that wasn't there before.

"Yeah, I could have," he says and swears he hears Danny mutter menace as well as a few other colorful words under his breath.

“It’s good right! _Kupuna_ says it’s rosemary!” Grace exclaims, eating the last bite of her piece.

“Old family recipe,” the old native woman says from behind the table with a wink, handing Danny his change with a wide smile before turning to help the next customer.

“It’s very good,” he tells Grace and nods when Danny asks if he’s ready to move on. They’ve been at the market for a half hour and have barely made it past a dozen stalls, stopping at each one to look over their fares be it bread of fresh flowers or anything in between. Danny has a bag already half full of fresh food and Grace has a handful of flowers stuck in the side pocket of her backpack, one of which she promptly stuck behind her ear.

“Danno we need peppers,” Grace says, leaning over Danny’s head to look him in the eye as best she can from her perch.

“Thank you Monkey,” Danny says and suddenly he’s leaning into Steve and grabbing for his hand. He can’t help the jolt of electricity he feels or the way his heart races when Danny’s fingers brush his and he suddenly has the idea that Danny is going to hold his hand.

That idea is quickly squashed when Danny grabs his shopping list out of his hand instead, “There’s a really good fruit stand up ahead,” he says, eyes focused on the small slip of paper, “and there’s a stand with some local tea's that I think you’ll like.”

He hands the list back and starts walking down the aisles, squeezing in between the other shoppers and holding Grace’s feet close to his chest so that she doesn’t accidentally hit someone. Steve follows as close as he can and marvels at the way Danny seems to know his way around. Just a few months ago he was still terrified that Danny would one day decide to pack it all up and move back to Jersey. Now the easy way he’s talking to the vendors and sampling the local produces gives Steve an entirely different idea, one that makes his heart go funny with the possibilities that it holds.

A child darts out from behind one of the booths and in front of Danny and he stops short to avoid running the little boy over causing Steve to run into Danny's back. The both stumble forward a bit and his arm wraps around Danny’s waist to keep him upright and suddenly they’re very close. Danny’s half facing him, his blue eyes staring up into his own, and wrapped in Steve's arms. If he wanted- and he really does want to- Steve could just say fuck it and lean down and kiss him, finally fulfill some of those fantasies he's been trying hard not to entertain over the last few months.

But then he remembers that they’re in the middle of a crowd and Grace is staring at him with a funny expression on her face and the moment passes.

“You okay?” he asks instead and reluctantly takes his arm away.

“Yeah," Danny says and runs his hand over Steve's arm, "as long as I got you watching my back." Danny gives his arm a gentle pat before walking away again and Steve could read so much into that if he gave himself half a chance. Danny turns around after a few steps when he realizes that Steve isn’t following him and the way that the early morning sun silhouettes the two does absolutely nothing to Steve’s heart. Absolutely nothing at all.

Then Danny has to go and give him that smile that’s so bright that his eyes are crinkling with happiness, and it nearly ruins Steve’s carefully crafted composure, “You coming?” he calls back and Steve wants to stay like that forever just basking in the moment, Danny and Grace waiting for him like they’re everything that he’s ever needed.

“Yeah,” he says and hurries to catch up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kupuna- grandparent/ elder


	2. Going to a PTA Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So now Steve was sitting in the middle of the school auditorium next to Danny and wondering how something as simple as a scheduled oil change could result in this. Because the principal of Grace’s school practically asked him and Danny to be the poster boys for their new initiative to introduce the students to nontraditional families

Steve’s truck was in the shop for an oil change. Which meant that he had to catch a ride home with Danny. Which wouldn’t be that far off from normal if they hadn’t caught a kidnapping case and gotten back to the office- tired and haggard but all in one piece at least- just after six. Which wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t the third Tuesday of the month.

Which meant that it was PTA night at Grace’s school.

“Do you mind? I could run you home first, but then I’d be late,” Danny had asked as they walked to the Camaro together after a particularly enthusiastic rant about Step- Stan and Rachel having to miss the meeting to go to one of Grace’s tennis matches, peppered with colorful metaphors for country clubs and those who frequent them, and ending with _‘I love my daughter very much Steve, she is the shining light at the end of the dismal tunnel that my days can turn into. But… there are only so many times I can sit on hard bleachers, surrounded by people I have nothing in common with, watching two little girls chasing a yellow ball around’_. Of course Steve had said he would go because at this point he would take any chance that he could to spend a little more time with Danny.

So now Steve was sitting in the middle of the school auditorium next to Danny and wondering how something as simple as a scheduled oil change could result in _this_.

Because the principal of Grace’s school practically asked him and Danny to be the poster boys for their new initiative to introduce the students to nontraditional families and he doesn’t know who’s face is redder, his or Danny’s, but he knows that they’re both doing a pretty stunning impression of a ripe tomato. For once Danny is at a loss for words, mouth hanging open in an fumbled attempt to inform the principal that he and Steve were not actually a couple. In all fairness, Steve’s initial reaction hadn’t been all that much better but the Navy had trained him to think quick on his feet so at least he recovered before the situation got even more embarrassing than it already was.

“Danny and I are just work partners,” he finally gives their standard response and takes a second to wonder when they actually had to come up with a preplanned explanation for when things like this happened.

“We’re not dating!” Danny finally blurts, his brain firing on all cylinders once again, “I mean not that I wouldn’t, but that’d be ridiculous. I mean look at him,” and Danny looks him straight in the eyes as he says that and Steve can see the panic written across his face. So maybe he’s not firing on as many cylinders as Steve initially thought, because now he’s making himself even more nervous and that only spurs him into talking more, “This guy looks like he walked out of a centerfold and… no. We’re just friends,” Danny finishes almost remorsefully and Steve has to grab his arm to get his attention so that he doesn’t talk anymore.

“I think they get it Danno,” he whispers as the principal starts sputtering an apology and laughing about how she would think twice before assuming something in the future.

\---

By the time Danny pulls into his driveway, it’s nearly eight. The sun’s been gone for a while, but it’s still warm out so they had rolled down the windows to enjoy the night. Usually, they leave them up so that they can talk, but after the meeting neither of them had been particularly keen on conversing. Steve closes the door behind him after he gets out but instead of heading towards the house he leans down and pokes his head through the window, because if he doesn’t do this now he’s afraid there won’t be another opportunity.

“Did you mean it?” he asks and Danny’s staring at him from the driver’s seat with an expression somewhere between panic and confusion.

“Mean what?” Danny finally asks and Steve could give him an easy out, give them both an easy out. Chock everything up to stress and long hours instead of facing the truth of whatever has been building between them. But he’s always liked a challenge.

“You said ‘not that I wouldn’t’-”

“Oh,” Danny interrupts him and that expression is definitely creeping more towards the panicked end of the spectrum.

“Did you mean it?” he asks again and there must be something in his voice because now Danny is _really_ looking at him; like he’s trying to gauge Steve’s expression in order to give him clues as to what to say. He waits with his heart in his throat as the silence drags on before Danny finally quietly says, “And if I did?”

“Then that’s good,” he says and he can’t help the big smile he gives Danny in return. It’s the kind of smile that always makes Danny call him a goof, but he doesn’t care right now because the door is open now and he’s not going to let it close again.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

And now they’re both smiling like idiots but it’s okay because for the first time since he realized that he had not-so-platonic feelings for Danny it feels like there’s really a chance for something. Eventually Danny drives away and he has to go inside but now at least he has something more to look forward to for the next day than catching a big case.


	3. Celebrating an Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No Danno, you sit here,” Grace says and pats the space between her and Steve. Steve presses play on the remote and moves his arm to the back of the couch to give Danny a bit more room; as soon as he does it though Danny settles against him, leaning into his side and tucking his head into the crook of Steve’s shoulder, and it’s all Steve can do to keep calm.
> 
> Because he and Danny are cuddling.

It’s just before seven by the time he finishes his morning swim and plods back into the house. He's just sliding the door to the lanai closed behind him when he hears his phone ringing and has to rush upstairs to answer before it goes to voicemail. He smiles when he picks it up and sees Danny’s face staring up at him from the screen before answering with a “Hey Danno”.

“Uncle Steve?” a soft voice replies instead.

“Grace?”

“Uncle Steve I need your help,” Grace says quietly and he’s instantly on alert and planning rescue strategies. He knows it takes twenty-six minutes to get to Danny’s apartment during morning traffic, less if he uses lights and sirens, but maybe he should get HPD on the line and hope that there’s someone closer.

“What’s wrong Grace? Where’s Danny?” he can’t help the panic that’s creeping into his tone but Grace needs help so he thinks that’s a pretty valid excuse.

“Danno’s in the shower,” and suddenly the tension in his shoulders in gone, “I need your help for a party, but Danno can’t know.”

“Why can’t Danno know Gracie?” he asks and the panic may be gone but none of his confusion is.

“Because the party’s _for_ Danno,” she say’s like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. All he can say is a simple oh before Grace is off again, “Next week is the one year anniversary of him moving here and I want to bake him a cake and to go to your house and spend the day together.”

“Okay,” he’s not really sure how to proceed here, but this sounds really important to Grace so he’ll be damned if he’s not going to do everything in his power to make this the best surprise party ever for her Danno. He’s pretty sure he got partial hearing loss from the thank you's Grace enthusiastically squeals into the phone, “I’ll help you but why don’t you have your mom call me so we can work out details,” he manages in between the thank you’s. She’s in the middle of her fifteenth one when she suddenly stops and says, “I have to go, Uncle Steve. Danno’s coming out of the bathroom now.”

“Okay Grace, tell your mom to call me sometime when you get home.”

“Okay! Oh, and Uncle Steve? Promise you won’t tell Danno about the surprise?”

“Cross my heart,” he says and thinks he hears Danny’s voice filtering through the line when it suddenly goes dead. He sets his phone back down with a smile and finishes toweling off his hair.

\---

Over the course of the next week, he exchanges several calls and texts with Grace via Rachel and they have a solid plan in place by Wednesday. That afternoon he went to the store and picked up everything that they could possibly need to make and decorate a cake as well as a couple extra beers and some soda that he think’s Grace will like. Thursday he locked Danny into visiting under the pretense of watching the football game, and that afternoon he had to go back to the store because Grace informed him that he forgot the all important rainbow sprinkles. Then it was just a waiting game until Grace came over Friday afternoon.

He thanks whatever higher being’s there are that they don’t get a case Friday and that the team can actually leave early. He has an hour before Grace will arrive so he showers and then picks up the downstairs. There’s not much to do, but he finds some books to organize and pillows to fluff before there’s a knock at the front door.

Grace barrels into him when he opens the door and wraps herself around him in a tight hug. He manages to disentangle an arm to shake Rachel’s hand as a hello. She thanks him for doing this, says goodbye to Grace, and then she’s leaving as quickly as she arrived and it’s just him and Grace standing in the open doorway.

“Ready?” Grace asks, looking up at him.

“Let’s get started,” he says and leads Grace to the kitchen, trying to tamp down his nervousness because this is the first time that he’s been left alone with Grace without Danny at least on the property. Grace is completely oblivious to his doubts and starts rummaging through the supplies he set out on the counter with a determination that would be the envy of any commanding officer.

An hour later and the once immaculate kitchen is covered with egg yolk and cake batter but the cake is done and cool enough for Grace to start frosting it. She allows Steve to help put on the base layer of blue frosting but insists that the drawing work is all hers to do. So he cleans up and gets dinner ready as she holds an overfull piping bag in her hands, tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth as she concentrates and sets to work drawing the Hawaiian islands in green frosting.

By the time she’s done, there’s almost as much frosting on her and the table as there is on the cake and the island chain looks almost three dimensional but she’s absolutely shining with pride as she stands back to let Steve examine her work. He has nothing but compliments for her (though he does convince her to let him write ‘Hawaii’ on some of the remaining blue space for clarification purposes). After a liberal application of rainbow sprinkles she happily declares the cake perfect and cleans herself up while he hangs the poster that she made out of yarn and construction paper up. He’s just taped up the final piece when he get’s a text from Danny saying that he’s almost to the house.

Danny walks through his front door a few minutes later, already talking about watching the Steelers get their asses handed to them, and stops dead in his tracks when he spots the scene in front of him. Steve and Grace are both standing in front of the ‘Thanks for moving to Hawaii’ poster and Steve is holding their cake in front of him. It’s a good thing too because as soon as Grace see’s her father she’s yelling “Happy moving anniversary!” and tackling him with a hug. Danny takes it with the practiced calm of a father who’s already been attacked like this a few thousand times before.

“What’s this?” He finally manages and Grace pulls back enough to look him in the eye before she responds.

“It’s been one year since you moved to Hawaii and I wanted to have a party to say 'thank you'.”

Danny seems almost shell-shocked by Grace’s explanation before he smiles and pulls her in for another hug, “I have the best daughter in the world,” he declares before releasing her and moving over to Steve who sets the cake down on the coffee table and greedily accepts his hug.

\---

Once dinner is finished and the cake is half eaten (mostly by Danny) Grace declares that it’s time to watch a movie, digging one out of her backpack and handing it to Danny before climbing onto the middle of the couch. Danny dutifully puts Lilo & Stitch in and moves to sit on the end of the couch opposite of Steve.

“No Danno, you sit here,” Grace says and pats the space between her and Steve. Danny settles into the small space next to him without a second thought and suddenly they’re pressed together shoulder to knee. Steve presses play on the remote and moves his arm to the back of the couch to give Danny a bit more room; as soon as he does it though Danny settles against him, leaning into his side and tucking his head into the crook of Steve’s shoulder, and it’s all Steve can do to keep calm.

Because he and Danny are _cuddling_.

At some point during the movie, Danny’s hand moved to rest on his thigh and he started tracing lazy patterns on Danny’s shoulder. Grace has been asleep with her head on Danny’s lap since Stitch’s Elvis impersonation and he wishes that they could stay like this forever. Or at least the rest of the night.

All too soon the credits are rolling and Danny gives his leg a little squeeze before maneuvering out from under Grace to get the DVD out of the player. Steve picks up Grace as gently as he can so that he doesn’t wake her and Danny leads him outside to the Camaro. They manage to get Grace in and buckled with only minimal difficulty and then it’s just the two of them.

“Thank you, really, I- I can’t thank you enough for helping Grace do this.”

“It was no problem, I really enjoyed it,” he says and now seems like the perfect time to make his move. He takes a step forward and rests a hand on Danny’s cheek, Danny stands his ground so he considers that a win. He can feel Danny’s pulse racing under his hand and hear the blood rushing through his own ears as he leans down. Danny meets him halfway and it’s probably the best first kiss that he’s ever had. The kiss doesn’t last long but by the time he pulls away they’re pressed flush against each other, Danny has a hand fisted in his shirt and a quickly growing smile.

“Okay then.”

“Okay,” is all Steve can think to say and he just knows that he has that goofy smile again, but it’s okay because Danny has the same one, “I should let you guys go.”

Danny nods so he takes a step away to let Danny open his door. Instead, he reaches up and pulls Steve back down for another kiss, and another, and another, and by the time they finally break apart for good they’re both a little breathless and he can see a flush on Danny’s cheeks in the porch light.

“What was that for?”

“For being you. For making living in this hell-hole a little more bearable. For making what was quickly becoming one of the absolute worst years of my life into one of the best. For being charming, and great with my daughter, and so damn loyal and good. Take your pick really,” then Danny was kissing him again, and Steve could _really_ get used to this, “and that one was just for me.”

“Are you two boyfriends now?” Grace calls from the car and they shoot apart in surprise, “You two should be boyfriends,” she says with a sleepy nod of her head.

Danny looks at him questioningly and he hopes that his expression says everything he’s feeling but _hell-yes-I-want-this-have-wanted-it-for-months-and-will-probably-want-it-for-the-rest-of-my-life_ is a little hard to convey with a simple look. Danny must get it though because he turns to Grace with a smile and says, “Yeah Monkey, Steve and I are boyfriends,” before getting her settled in the car again.

He hears Grace mumble “Good” before Danny closes his door and watches them drive away until the taillights of the Camaro disappear around the corner.


	4. Dealing with an Injury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “TLC huh?” Steve asked, leaning over Danny’s drawn up leg so that he was hovering just over top of it, “Is that something like this?” he asked and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Danny’s knee.

"Son of a bitch!" Steve heard Danny yell from across the empty exercise room, the shout quickly followed by a muffled _thud_. He was jumping off his treadmill, not even bothering to shut it off before running across the room to Danny. He found him in front of the punching bag, sitting on the padded floor with his bad knee drawn up towards his chest.

“What’s wrong,” he asked, dropping to the floor trying to assess the damage.

“It’s nothing, I stepped wrong and tweaked my knee,” Danny said massaging the offending joint.

“Are you sure? Do you need to see a doctor?” Steve asked, reaching a hand out to feel Danny’s knee and see if anything bothered it.

“I swear I'm fine,” Danny said, resting his hand on top of Steve’s to stop the prodding, “this happens every once in awhile. I just need to ice it and I'll be good as new.”

“You sure?” he could already feel his tension draining away but wanted to be absolutely sure that Danny wasn’t just playing this off if it was something potentially serious.

“Well, a little extra TLC couldn’t hurt but honestly I'm fine,” Dany told him, squeezing his hand a bit to reassure Steve.

“TLC huh?” Steve asked, leaning over Danny’s drawn up leg so that he was hovering just over top of it, “Is that something like this?” he asked pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Danny’s knee and smiled when he heard Danny’s sharp intake of breath.

“Well that’s certainly not hurting anything,” Danny said, “and you know what they about these all natural remedies. All the rage lately,” Steve hummed and pressed another, firmer kiss to the inside of Danny’s knee. “You know,” Danny started and Steve lifted his head to look at him, “I think I may have hit something else when I fell.”

“Oh yeah? And what was that?” he questioned, placing his hand on top of Danny’s foot and rubbing little circles on his ankle.

“Right here,” Danny said and pointed to the side of his mouth with a mischievous smirk.

Steve slowly moved up to his hands and knees so that he could crawl over Danny, “Is that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Well we wouldn’t want to leave anything to chance now would we, this being a potentially serious injury and all,” he said quietly and kissed the side of Danny’s mouth, “Better?”

“I think additional treatment may be needed,” Danny said, eyes hooded and leaning in just to stop a hair’s breadth away from kissing Steve.

“I think I can handle that,” Steve said and closed the distance between them.


	5. Dealing with Insomnia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve would understand and Danny knew that he would stay up till sunrise listening to Danny vent if that was what he needed, but tomorrow was only Thursday and at least one of them should get a good night’s sleep.

Danny rolled over and stared at the clock again. 1:28 in the morning. A whole five minutes had passed since he last checked the clock twenty minutes ago. He turned onto his back at stared up at the ceiling, focusing on a black dot right above his forehead.

He knew exactly why he couldn’t sleep, but that didn’t make it any easier. He closed his eyes and instantly felt the all too familiar feeling of terror slowly creep over him. The worry that he was still stuck in that little, dark room so overpowering that if he kept his eyes closed too long he could feel the panic attack starting. So he stared at the black dot on the ceiling again.

After a second he rolled over and grabbed his cellphone off of the nightstand, unlocking it. He had his thumb hovering over the send button, the text he had written hours ago asking Steve if he was still awake staring back at him. He hit send before he could talk himself out of doing it once again and let the phone drop onto his chest. There was no way that Steve would still be up this late, he was probably happily asleep like Danny wished he could be.

He jumped when his phone started to ring and picked it up to see Steve’s face smiling back at him, “You okay?” Steve's voice filtered through the line before Danny could even say hello.

“Yeah, yeah it’s nothing. Sorry for waking you,” Danny said and breathed a sigh of relief when it stopped feeling like the walls were slowly closing in on him.

“Can’t sleep?” Steve asked after a while, the edge of worry gone from his voice.

“Yeah.”

“Want to talk about it?” Steve asked him, and Danny knew that he really should. He had been locked in a cellar for a day, no light except for the glow from his cellphone and his only company the monsters his own mind conjured up in his confines. Steve would understand and Danny knew that he would stay up till sunrise listening to Danny vent if that was what he needed, but tomorrow was only Thursday and at least one of them should get a good night’s sleep.

“No,” he finally sighed and the line was silent except for the soft sounds of Steve breathing. He was just starting to think that Steve had fallen asleep when he finally heard, “Give me fifteen,” then the line was dead.

He stared at his phone for a second before putting it back on the charger and looking at the time again. 1:42.

Fantastic.

\---

Danny was just considering getting out of bed and doing some paperwork when there was a soft knock at the front door and he heard the sound of the lock turning. He sat up, on high alert, and was just about to grab his gun from the night table when he watched Steve slip through the front door and relock it behind him.

“Fuck Steve, what the hell are you doing? I could have shot you!” Danny whispered furiously from the bed, he really wanted to yell but didn’t think his neighbors would appreciate that too much.

“You said you couldn’t sleep,” was Steve’s simple reply as he dropped a bag next to the door and walked to the bed, “Scootch over.” Danny did and Steve peeled back the covers, sliding in next to Danny and lying down, “Just lie down and focus on my breathing, it'll calm you down. Then if you wake up you’ll see me and know that you’re not in that cellar anymore.”

Danny stared in awe at Steve for a minute before sliding down and facing him on the bed, “How did you know?”

“Because I couldn’t sleep without knowing you were safe either,” Steve said and, really, Danny had no choice but to kiss him for that. He took Steve’s hand and laced their fingers together as he broke the kiss, “You’re kinda amazing, you know that?”

“So I've been told,” Steve said closing his eyes and giving Danny a small, sleepy smile. Danny listened to Steve’s even breaths as he slowly fell asleep and finally, _finally_ , Danny could close his eyes.


	6. Getting Wet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was quiet. Too quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for leaving comments and kudos! I'm not very good at updating regularly like this, but all of your encouragements make it easier.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

Danny cracked one eye open, delaying his so far unsuccessful nap, to look around him. Just a few minutes ago Grace and Steve had been down by the water playing in the surf. Even from his perch up on the lanai he could hear the splashing of their feet and the peal of Grace’s laughter. Now there was nothing. He sat up in the lounge chair and scanned the beach, but neither Grace nor Steve were anywhere in sight.

“Grace?” he called, hearing the concern in his voice, “Steve?” he called out again. There were thousands of logical, perfectly safe reasons that they wouldn’t be on the beach he told himself; just like there were thousands of logical, perfectly safe reasons as to why they weren’t answering him.

For the life of him he couldn’t think of one.

“Grace,” he yelled, stepping closer to the beach and off of the lanai. Maybe they had gone back into the water to swim and were just underwater. Or maybe Grace had seen a bird or a flower and they were in the hedges exploring. Danny racked his brain for reasons as to why he couldn’t find his daughter or boyfriend, even as he walked closer to the ocean, scanning the water for signs of them.

He was just a few steps from the water's edge when there was suddenly loud yelling behind him and he spun just in time to see Steve and Grace charging out of the hedges, water guns raised and firing wildly. Danny stood there, shocked, as he was sprayed head to toe with water; the barrage only stopping when the guns ran out and Danny was soaked.

“Got you, Danno!” Grace laughed, absolutely beaming at him.

Now that he knew that they were safe, Danny had the presence of mind to close his mouth from the initial shock. A plan started to form in his mind and his expression turned predatory.

“You think so, huh?” he asked them. Before either could react he whipped his wet t-shirt off and flung it in Steve’s face, stunning him, then Danny ran towards Grace. She dropped her water gun and turned to make a getaway but he was too quick, scooping her up in his arms and tossing her over one shoulder, “This is what you get!” he yelled even though most of it was drowned out by Grace’s laughter. He ran into the ocean until he was waist deep and he could hear Steve following them in.

“This is what happens to little girls who are mean to their fathers!” he yelled as he pitched himself over sideways and the two of them fell into the water. He watched as Grace broke the surface first, sputtering but still laughing. He followed her up, smiling, but his triumph only lasted a few seconds until Steve grabbed him from behind and dragged them both backwards into the waves. Danny surfaced again, a little less joyfully this time, and wiped the water out of his eyes to see Grace trying to tackle Steve so that he would fall down. As Steve finally took an exaggerated tumble into the water Danny just watched as Grace held her arms up high in victory.

He may have been wet and covered in sand and his afternoon nap was successfully ruined but, when he saw Steve pick Grace up and hug her Danny couldn’t really find it in himself to be bothered.


	7. Family Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Everything good, Babe?” Danny asks. His voice is still muddled with sleep and he sounds so content to just be where he is tangled up in Steve.

When Steve was sixteen he entered a local amateur surfing tournament to impress a girl he liked who worked as a surf instructor. In order to help him practice, every Saturday in the weeks leading up to the competition his parents would load up their old Ford Explorer and head to the beach. His mother would make a picnic lunch for the family, his father would pack up the tons upon tons of water toys that they had for Mary Ann, and Steve would help load everything in and strap the boards to the top of the car.

When they got to the beach the whole family would drag everything that they brought with them down to the shore and set up for the day, spreading out blankets and beach chairs and an umbrella for some shade. It was the one rule for the day, base camp had to be set up first before anyone could play.

As soon as they were done Steve would grab his board and tear into the ocean, his mother following behind at a more demure pace, eager to catch his first wave of the day. They would spend a couple hours like that, Mary Ann playing in the sand, his father watching over her, and Steve and his mother out in the water. At lunchtime, they would all pile onto the beach blanket and eat the sandwiches they had packed and talked until the sun would start to set. Years later Steve never could remember what they would say on those days but he remembered that they were always laughing.

Then a few weeks later his mother died, Steve and Mary were sent off to the mainland and as time went on and his family grew steadily apart Steve figured that those days on the beach together would be the last family memories he would ever have.

He’s never been so happy to be proven wrong, Steve thinks to himself as he takes in the scene around him. Kamekona is over by the grill, tongs in one hand and a beer in the other, tending to a new flavor of shrimp that he has graciously- his words, not theirs- let them taste test first. Chin is standing by making sure that he doesn’t accidentally kill them all with whatever flavor combination he has stumbled up now and talking to Max about something. He’s not quite sure what it is the two of them are talking about, but Max is smiling and bouncing a little in his excitement so he’s glad for it, whatever it is.

He scans down the beach from his perch in his hammock to where Kono is in the water with Grace teaching her how to surf. Danny had finally agreed to let Grace learn after resisting for about a month- which was twice as long as Steve thought he would last against her pouty face. She’s spent the last two hours studiously listening to Kono talk about surfing etiquette and proper form, before actually getting to touch a board. Now she’s just off of the shore next to Kono where she has graduated from practicing on the sand to learn how to paddle in about two feet of water. Kono, with all the patience of a saint, is holding the board steady for her and showing her how to angle her hands properly as she cuts through the water.

He feels Danny move beside him, pressing himself closer to Steve’s side where he’s wrapped underneath his arm, and let out a content sigh. They’re both still in their board shorts from when they had been in the water with Grace earlier, but their bare skin is now dry and warmed by the afternoon sun. Steve has one leg draped over the side of the hammock that he’s been using to gently rock them for the past hour or so, his other leg tangled in between Danny’s. Danny squeezes his hand where he’s got it held over Steve’s stomach, slowly waking from his impromptu nap. Once he’s awake Danny lifts his chin to rest in on Steve’s chest and look him in the eye.

“Everything good, Babe?” Danny asks. His voice is still muddled with sleep and he sounds so content to just be where he is: tangled up in Steve.

“Yeah, perfect,” he says with a smile and realizes that yeah, that just about sums it up.


	8. Doing Research

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thing is that the more he reads about Hawaii, the more he finds himself enjoying the islands.

Danny hates Hawaii. He has ever since Rachel first mentioned the mere idea of moving Grace out there and a small part of him probably always will just for the simple misfortune of it not being New Jersey. Yet, an ever increasing part of him also admits that Hawaii is his home and that it will be for a very long time.

So, Danny figures, if he’s going to stay for a while, then he may as well learn about the place that he now calls home. He starts general, looking up simple facts like when the islands became a US state and how it’s the most geographically isolated place in the world. Then, as the days go on he starts to learn more.

He reads about the Ali’i, how they were believed to be descendants of gods and thus best qualified to lead the Hawaiian people. The next day he buys a book about King Kamehameha and finishes it within the week.

He also stumbles across some information about a King Kalakaua and makes a mental note to ask Kono about any possible family lineage.

Then he gets into the traditional Hawaiian customs and reads about the origin of the lei and its symbolism- and how it’s not actually just a flower necklace like he thought. Then he reads about tiki’s, and there is way too much information out there about them for his liking, but he actually finds the traditional Hawaiian culture really fascinating so he just keeps plugging along.

Be it about their gods or their building techniques he skims books and articles and on one particular insomnia fueled study night he even reads a short paper about traditional views on sex and the LGBT in the tribes.

He reads books about the British and American occupation of the islands and how the Hawaiians got the short end of the stick in that deal.

He reads about the geography and how the Big Island is actually still forming thanks to the constantly erupting Kilauea volcano.

The day he reads that Aloha is a real state law he actually falls out of his chair laughing and wonders if he should turn himself in.

The thing is that the more he reads about Hawaii, the more he finds himself enjoying the islands. Taking Grace to museums and historical sights becomes less about her getting the exposure than the both of them learning something new. That doesn’t mean that he broadcasts his after-hours activities to anyone, because he would never hear the end of it if he did. Kono would tease him mercilessly about actually liking Hawaii, and Chin would start to send him links and books about different topics, and Steve… well, he didn’t actually know what Steve would do but it would probably involve Goofy Smile #6 (which was by far Danny’s favorite).

Even though he didn’t tell anyone that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t find out on their own.

Chin realizes it first when they get a museum robbery case. He had leaned over to Danny to explain the significance of one of the stolen pieces, but Danny cut him off with an ‘I know’ which earned him a confused stare. Kono found out next when he accidentally let slip a fact he had just read about King Kalakaua. She had looked even more surprised than Chin before she smiled and Danny was having flashbacks of the Chesire Cat in Alice in Wonderland going ‘We’re all mad here’.

“Brah _,_ ” she had started in a voice that was far too casual to be natural, “Have you been reading about Hawaii?” He thought about lying, but he knew that it was pointless, she already knew the truth, so he settled for a- not at all defensive- “So what if I have?”

Her smile got even wider as she slapped him on the back and proudly declared, “We’ll make a local out of you yet!”

For all Steve meddled in his life Danny was a little surprised that he was the last one to catch on about his new hobby. It was a Saturday and they were down on Steve’s beach relaxing. Steve was telling him a story about Kanaloa, the god of the ocean, and Pele, the goddess of the volcano, and Danny started to talk about Pele and Poliahu and their constant struggle between fire and snow.

“You know about Pele and Poliahu?” Steve had asked, turning to face Danny head on and staring at him like he’s not entirely sure this isn’t all some joke.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been doing some research. Hawaii is my home now, after all,” Danny said and Steve had stared at him like he couldn’t quite believe what he just heard. Danny doesn’t blame him, it’s the first time he’s actually admitted that Hawaii was his home out loud and it sound weird to his own ears.

“Hawaii is your home?” Steve reiterated.

“Well... isn’t it?” he asked, suddenly self-conscious. Like maybe he broke some unwritten law by saying that and maybe he was still just the _haole_ and he would claim Hawaii but Hawaii wouldn’t claim him back.

Steve rises to his feet, stepping closer until he’s straddling Danny’s outstretched legs. He feels his heart start to race as Steve leans down, grabbing the armrests and trapping Danny into his chair, and Steve should really back up so that Danny can breathe again.

“Hawaii is your home,” Steve says again and his face slowly morphs from Confusion #3 to Goofy Smile #7, which is _so_ much better than #6. Then Steve kisses Danny and he’s never felt more at home in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the facts I mention can be found [here](http://www.prideofmaui.com/blog/activities/best-things-hawaiian-culture.html). Others are things that I picked up when I visited Hawaii myself or came across while researching for other fics.


	9. Getting Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’re lost aren’t we?” Danny asks, swatting a bug away from his face and staring at the diverging trail ahead of them with all the joyfulness of a man who was dragged out of bed before the sun was up and then made to go on a two-hour hike without coffee.

“We’re lost aren’t we?” Danny asks, swatting a bug away from his face and staring at the diverging trail ahead of them with all the joyfulness of a man who was dragged out of bed before the sun was up and then made to go on a two-hour hike without coffee.

“We’re not lost,” Steve rebuts but even in the darkness Danny can see the indecision written in the lines that now crease his forehead. Not for the first time, Danny wishes that he had snuck a park map into his bag, but Steve being Steve probably would have found it and then been offended that Danny thought he would need it. Then they would have been lost _and_ angry.

“Tell me again why we’re out in the middle of the forest before the sun is even up?” Danny asks then thinks more on the topic, “Is this park even open yet?”

“Technically it doesn’t close,” Steve said offhandedly, fully concentrating on the trail ahead of them, “There’s a campground at the other end of the trail.”

“And why we’re here?” Danny presses, sitting down on a moss covered tree stump. It’s still damp from the night's rain but at this point he’s so tired that he doesn’t care. It figures that he would be dating a guy who can function perfectly on two hours of sleep a night.

“I want to show you something,” Steve says and straightens up, “It’s this way.” He points to the right-hand path with a confidence that Danny is sceptical of but follows anyway because Steve is charging off before Danny can even hoist himself off of his little perch. Danny catches up to him just as the trail makes its way uphill- again- but Steve stops short and does an about face, nearly running Danny over in the process. He grabs Danny’s hand and half drags him back the way they came.

“That was the wrong way wasn’t it?” Danny asks only to get a stern, “Shut up, Danno,” which makes him smile. He knows he’s being a bit of a pain about this, but Steve pulled him out of a perfectly warm and comfortable bed to go hiking. _They could be having sex right now_ , Danny thinks forlornly as Steve rounds the bend in the trail and heads down the other path.

They walk for another twenty minutes or so and it must be getting close to sunrise because he can actually see more than ten feet in front of them now. Out of nowhere the trail makes a sharp bend, doubling back on itself just before they head over the edge of a cliff and Danny stops short, taking in the view. The trees have been cleared away- or maybe they were never able to grow on the steep incline in the first place- and the little ledge looks out over the coast below them. From a thousand feet up Danny feels like he could see straight to the mainland from here.

Steve drags his attention away from the stunning view so that they can sit on a little wooden bench just as the sun breaches the horizon and Danny watch, spellbound, as the sky changes from black to pink, through a whole array of reds and oranges until finally the sun sets on the horizon and the sky settles on the light blue that he's become so accustomed to.

“Wow,” is all Danny can think to say, still staring ahead to watch the silent waves break on the shore.

“Worth the hike?” Steve asks, draping his arm around Danny’s shoulders and bringing him closer.

“Yeah.”

“Even though we got lost?” Steve stops and asks just before his lips meet Danny’s.

“So you admit you were lost!”

“Never,” Steve says with a smile and kisses him.

 


	10. Meeting with the Governor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of a sudden this felt a lot less like a meeting with the Governor than a trip to the principal's office.

Danny hadn’t even finished brushing his teeth before his cellphone started to ring. He spat, cursing Hawaii, every criminal on it, and the permanently good weather- at least in Jersey crime slowed down a little when it started to freeze because everyone except the most dedicated was stuck indoors- before going back into his bedroom to grab his cell off of the nightstand.

“What possible atrocity could not wait another twenty minutes until I got to the office?” he asked as soon as the call connected, trapping the phone between his ear and shoulder while pulling on his pants.

“Detective Williams?” the voice on the other end of the line asked and _shit, that was not Steve_.

“Who is this?” he asked, pulling the phone away to glance at the screen. Private number.

“This is Richard Freeley with the Governor's office.” _Double shit_.

“Yes! Richard, how can I help you?” Danny started again, trying to sound at least a little more pleasant.

“Governor Denning would like to have a meeting with you today. Is eight o’clock okay?”

“Um, sure. But-”

“Great,” Richard steamrolled over Danny’s question, “I’ll confirm it with Denning.”

“-why does he want to see me?” Danny asked the now dead connection.

\---

Danny walked into the Governor's office with five minutes to spare before their meeting, every possible scenario for why Denning would want to see him running through his mind. Terrorist attack was at the top of his list and wouldn’t that just be the perfect way to start the day. He adjusted his tie as he walked through the door and when he was satisfied looked up to see Steve staring at him like a deer in headlights from the leather couch in the waiting area.

Shit.

Danny knew exactly why they were there.

Someone had figured out he and Steve were together and run to Denning, one of the only men on the island who could actually do something about it. They had been so careful for so long, tried their best to keep things professional at work and it had all been for nothing because now here they were, about to face the music for their secret relationship. _Still_ , Danny thought, _three months was a pretty good run for hiding something from literally every detective on the island_. He sat down in the chair across from Steve and gave him a smile that he hoped was comforting. At least, it was as far from a grimace as he could get at the moment.

All of a sudden this felt a lot less like a meeting with the Governor than a trip to the principal's office.

Danny was on his way to a mild panic attack by the time Richard was calling the both of them into Denning’s office. Denning was already seated behind his desk when they were ushered in and he invited them to take a seat. Steve put a hand on the small of Danny's back to usher him into the closest seat; he knew that Steve meant it as a comfort, but all Danny could see it as was a hammer putting the final nail in the coffin.

“It has been brought to my attention,” Denning started as soon as they sat, getting right to the nitty-gritty. A small part of Danny appreciated him for not beating around the bush, “That the both of you are involved in a romantic relationship. Is that correct?” He leaned forward, resting both elbows on his desk and looked up at the both of them with an expression that clearly said ‘there will be hell to pay if you even think about lying to me’.

“That’s correct,” Steve answered, Navy SEAL persona coming to the forefront with a bravado Danny would be jealous of if he weren’t still busy reliving every trip he had to make to the principal's office between grades seven and twelve.

“I’m sure that you’re both aware of the strict no-fraternization policy that HPD has,” Denning continued and Danny knew that this is the part where he gets the boot; because the task force was practically made for Steve, so it's Danny who's going to get transferred out of Five-O. Or worse, he’s going to get fired. He could feel his anxiety gnawing at him, feel the panic attack waiting at the edges of his limited calm. As the silence between the three of them stretched on, Danny wished that Denning would just get it over and done with, “but, seeing as Commander McGarrett is employed directly with the governor's office, technically no fraternization rules have been broken.”

Danny watched out of the corner of his eye as Steve slumped back into his chair, all of the tension leaving his body so he looked less like a taut bowstring and more like an actual human. For his part, it took Danny a little longer to catch on, mostly because he was more surprised with not hearing the words ‘fired’ or ‘transferred’ than what Denning had actually said. Denning handed to papers over to them and Danny took it with the same tenderness as if it were a ticking bomb.

“I’ll expect these declaration of interoffice relationship forms filled out completely and returned to my office by tomorrow morning,” Denning said and turned back to his paperwork, dismissing them. Steve stood and Danny followed him up mostly out of habit than a conscious decision. Steve had his hand on the door handle when Denning called out to them with, “Oh, and gentlemen? I’m very happy for the both of you.”


	11. Blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny can’t help his fond smile as he reaches out a hand to trace a finger along Steve’s hairline and all of a sudden everything just sort of clicks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be the first of three parts and continued over the next two days.

Danny wakes before Steve which is not as rare nowadays, but it’s still a pretty noteworthy achievement. It’s just after six on a Saturday so they should be due for at least another hour of sleep but Danny’s wide awake already. Steve snuffles as Danny moves out from under his arm and turns onto his side, propping his head up on his hand to look at Steve better.

He’s always liked to watch Steve sleep which, yes he admits is a little creepy, but Steve finds a certain level of peace when he’s asleep that he never seems to reach in consciousness and Danny loves to see him so relaxed. Steve’s lying on his stomach, one arm buried underneath his pillow and the other reaching out towards Danny. He’s got his face pressed into the pillow with his mouth hanging open a little and Danny can’t help but marvel at how content he looks. Gone are the worry lines around his eyes, the creases in his forehead smoothed out. In the soft glow from the rising sun, he looks about ten years younger, softer around the edges and not for the first time he wishes that Steve wasn't quite so burdened by everything that’s happened to him.

Steve lets out a discontent grunt and his hand reaches out, searching. When he finally brushes up against Danny’s stomach he grabs a bit of Danny’s t-shirt in a loose grip and relaxes again. Danny can’t help his fond smile as he reaches out a hand to trace a finger along Steve’s hairline and all of a sudden everything just sort of clicks.

He’s in love with Steve.

Their whole relationship happened so naturally that Danny feels like he must have been blind not to see it before. Not to see how completely gone he is for the goof he shares a bed with more nights than not. Not to see how well they fit together in each other's lives. Not to see that he kinda- sorta- definitely could see spending the rest of his life with Steve. To say that after the divorce Rachel had left him a little gunshy- in the metaphorical sense- would be an understatement; so he always figured that if he ever did reach this point again he’d be a little more panicky about it. Yet right now there’s none of that. No thinking about how this could go wrong, no wondering if he’s going to spook Steve, no worrying that the job, or stress, or _life_ will cause problems for them. In fact, he just feels content.

“You’re thinking too much,” Steve mumbles into his pillow, shocking Danny out of his epiphany.

“You’re asleep, how would you know?” Danny says, just because they’re sleeping together now doesn’t mean they don’t still bicker.

“Your brain’s too loud. Woke me up,” Steve retorts, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“Well maybe because that’s just because your brain’s so silent all the time,” Danny says but shuffles back down under the covers anyway. He’s had better retorts, but it’s six in the morning and he’s just realised he’s in love with the very same man who gets him shot at on a weekly basis so he figures that there’s a little room for forgiveness. Instead of replying Steve just wraps an arm around his waist and pulls them closer so that his head can rest on Danny’s chest.

“Go back to sleep, Danno,” Steve says and he’s passed out again before Danny can even say okay.


	12. Staring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a while, Danny looked his way and caught him staring, “You gonna keep staring or are you gonna bring the popcorn?” Danny asked with an easy smile which never failed to make Steve's heart race.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a continuation of the previous one: Blind.

“Popcorn, please!” Grace asked in that sweet voice of hers that she only used when she really wanted something that Danny would probably say no to.

“You just ate three tacos!” Danny said plopping down onto the couch behind her, “How could you possibly have room for more food?”

“Danno,” Grace said, rolling her eyes like she was about to explain something that was painfully obvious, “There’s always room for popcorn.”

“Oh, well, how can I argue with that?” he turned to Steve with an expectant look, “Well?”

“How am I on popcorn duty?” Steve complained even though he was already halfway out of his seat.

“It’s your kitchen,” Danny replied with a shrug.

Steve popped a bag of popcorn in the microwave and hit the button, getting another bag ready before leaning against the doorjamb to watch Danny and Grace. Lilo and Stitch- Grace’s favorite- was already on the tv, waiting on the menu screen for Steve to get back so that they could watch it. Grace was sitting on a pillow on the floor and leaning back against her dad’s legs while he finger-combed her hair, slowly separating it into strands so that he could french braid it.

He watched as Danny finished the braid and tied it off with a hair tie then leaned back into the couch and got settled in. He was in casual clothes today, which Steve always loved to see him in, and he had refrained from manhandling his hair into its usual state of submission. Danny stretched one arm out over the back of the couch and Steve drank in the sight.

Things had been different between them for the last couple of weeks, and Steve couldn’t understand why. Every once in awhile when they were alone Danny would look at him like he was about to say something then turn away and act like it never happened. The first few times Steve thought nothing of it, that maybe Danny was going to try and bounce some ideas for their latest case off of him. But then it kept happening and when Steve brought it up Danny would get defensive until finally they both just stopped talking about it out of sheer stubbornness.

That didn’t stop Steve from worrying about it, though. This thing between them, where they were sorta dating but also not quite a couple, was still new and it terrified him how fragile it was. It would keep him up at night how one mistake could ruin it all, how they had already wasted so much time getting here, and how much Steve already had invested in the two of them. It didn’t matter how new the relationship was, Steve loved Danny. He had since well before Danny had kissed him all those weeks ago. Hell, a small part of him had loved Danny since he first saw him years ago in the garage and now that they were actually together-ish he couldn’t stand the thought of losing Danny or going back to the way it was before.

After a while, Danny looked his way and caught him staring, “You gonna keep staring or are you gonna bring the popcorn?” Danny asked with an easy smile which never failed to make Steve's heart race.

“Yeah,” Steve said, which wasn’t really an answer, and grabbed the popcorn out of the microwave, replacing it with the unpopped bag and dumping it into a bowl. His gaze drifted back over to the living room and he wondered why he had never told Danny that he loved him. He tried to show it as best he could, but that wasn’t the same.

The microwave dinged again and he filled the bowl with the rest of the popcorn. Suddenly it just seemed so ridiculous that he had never told Danny how he felt. Decision made, he gathered up the bowl and headed back out. _Now or never._

“Danny,” he said quietly as he sat down on the couch, popcorn bowl left on the coffee table. Danny gave a questioning hum and turned to him, blue eyes staring into his own.

“I-”

“The movie’s starting!” Grace announced and climbed up onto the couch between them, grabbing the popcorn bowl and scooting around until she was comfortable.

“What is it, Babe?” Danny asked, but Steve could already feel himself losing his resolve.

“Nothing. It can wait.” _Coward,_ he mentally chastised himself and resisted the urge to bang his head against a wall.


	13. In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What’s this?” Danny asks turning to face him and Steve swallows hard, this wasn’t how he had planned the night going, “You got something you want to tell me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter directly follows the previous two and thus finishes the little story arc.

“Babe?” Steve hears Danny call from downstairs and feels a jolt of apprehension run through him. Pulling on his shirt, he sprinted down the stairs, nearly running into Danny in the doorway as he tries to make his way out onto the lanai.

“Danny, you're early,” he says tentatively, not sure how Danny will react to the scene before him. After the failed confession during movie night, Steve had made a plan. He’s not very good at the big gestures in relationships, it’s something that Danny took great enjoyment in pointing out when he was still seeing Cath. So he wanted to show Danny how much this relationship means to him and to do that the night needed to be romantic. Which kinda sucked because that meant that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

He cleaned the house top to bottom- twice- in nervous energy, stocked the kitchen with more food for dinner than they could possibly eat and set up the lanai as romantic as he could make it. String lights hung around the roof and he lit nice candles, placing them out on the tables. He even dug out an old tablecloth to put on the picnic table.

“What’s this?” Danny asks turning to face him and Steve swallows hard, this wasn’t how he had planned the night going, “You got something you want to tell me?”

He knows that he should keep his calm, he’s been trained to remain collected in situations a lot more dire than this. But none of those situations had Danny Williams looking at him like _that_ with the gleam of the string lights reflecting in his impossibly blue eyes. A sight like that can do funny things to a man’s resolve.

“I love you,” he blurts and this was definitely not the plan. For one, they were supposed to have actually made it out onto the lanai, but god it feels so good to finally say it. It’s all he could think about for days now and it's slowly been driving him mad.

“Say that again,” Danny says quietly and for a second, he thinks that he mumbled it, screwed the whole thing up even more than he already has.

“I love you,” he says more confidently this time and Danny’s smile can’t possibly get any bigger.

“Again.”

“I love-” Danny’s pouncing on him before he can finish, pulling him down into a needy kiss that steals his breath. When he finally breaks away to draw in some much-needed air, cheeks flushed and hair a mess from where Danny’s run his hand through it, Danny pulls back to look him in the eye.

“I love you too,” he finally says in between breaths and he sounds absolutely wrecked. Steve’s still trying to process everything when Danny pulls him back down into another kiss where he can feel Danny smiling. It doesn’t take long for the kiss to grow more desperate and then Danny is pushing him backwards and back into the living room.

“What about dinner,” Steve asks as Danny pushes his hands underneath his shirt and starts mouthing at his neck.

“You really worried about food right now?” Danny asks just as he dips the tips of his fingers down the front of Steve's pants. He moans before grabbing Danny by the wrist and hauling him upstairs as an answer.


	14. In Peril

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On any other day, he would practically be jumping for joy to be in a situation like this but as it is they’re currently freezing to death, which is definitely killing the mood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a lot longer than previous ones. What can I say? I write drama and tragedy a lot better than I write fluff.

When Steve wakes the first thing he realizes is that he’s freezing, which can’t be right because Hawaii is suffering through the longest heatwave in years. It takes him a moment to get his eyes open and a good deal longer than that to realize that he’s strung up, hands tied together high above him and fastened to a meat hook. _Meat freezer_ , his brain supplies, which is helpful but far from comforting.

Danny is strung up beside him and they’re surrounded on either side by rows of hanging pigs. Danny isn’t moving, but he can see the small puffs of breath billowing from his nose every couple of seconds. Slowly, panic creeps into his sluggish brain. His feet barely touch the floor, but at least he has shoes on; Danny, he is dismayed to see, is barefoot and dressed in just shorts and a thin t-shirt. Slowly everything comes back to him, he had gone for a run that morning and by the time he got home Danny had been there, lounging on the lanai. He barely had time to towel off the sweat before they were being ambushed by a group of men in masks.

Everything after that is fuzzy, but he can make a pretty good guess at what happened and why. The perpetrators of the string of home invasions that they’ve been investigating for the last week has had the exact same motive.

“Danny,” he says, voice low and a little bit desperate. When Danny doesn’t so much as stir he tries again only to be, once again, met with silence. He wishes he knew how long they’ve been in the freezer. Given their dress hypothermia is higher up on his list of concerns than carbon dioxide poisoning but it’s a close second. That’s not even mentioning whatever is waiting on the other side of the door.

When Danny fails to answer after Steve calls him again, he decides that it’s time to do something. The ropes are tied securely, but he’s just been looped over the hook and isn’t actually secured to it. It takes him a few tries but eventually he manages to swing himself up high enough to loop his feet over the track the hooks are attached to and get his arms free. As soon as he loses the extra stabilization he drops to the floor and hears something pop when he lands. His vision is swimming and he struggles to catch his breath, but it’s made difficult when there’s a shooting pain in his side that feels like a broken rib. He pushes the pain aside and stands on unsteady legs. He makes his way over to the door and pushes but it’s locked from the outside so he rushes over to Danny to help him instead.

“Danny,” he says, slapping Danny’s face as hard as he dares and finally he stirs.

“Five more minutes,” Danny slurs and Steve has never been more relieved to hear him speak.

“No Danny, you gotta wake up,” Steve urges and prays that just this once Danny will be accommodating.

“I promise I’ll shovel just give me five.”

“Danny!” Steve says again and this time he does slap him. Danny’s eyes shoot open and the first thing Steve sees is that his pupils are uneven.

“Steve? Why are you wearing a tank top? It’s the middle of winter.” Steve’s not sure whether to chock the confusion up to the concussion or the impending hypothermia but, either way, it’s not good.

“Danny we’ve been kidnapped. I have to get you down.”

“Down?” Danny asks and looks up and down, realizing for the first time that he’s hanging a good half foot off of the floor. There’s no way that Steve can get the ropes untied when he can barely feel his fingers so he crouches down as low as he can to get his arms around Danny’s legs and rises until his arms are wrapped around Danny’s waist.

“Okay Danny, I'm going to lift you and you have to get your arms off of the hook okay?” Danny gives him a jerky nod that he understands so Steve squeezes and lifts Danny as high as he can, grunting when Danny’s legs press into his broken rib. Soon Danny says okay and Steve lets him back down. It’s a good thing that his arms are still around Danny’s waist because as soon as his feet are on the floor he just collapses into Steve.

“You’re warm,” Danny mumbles into his chest and tries to push himself closer onto Steve. On any other day, he would practically be jumping for joy to be in a situation like this but as it is they’re currently freezing to death, which is definitely killing the mood.

“Let’s lie down,” Danny mumbles and Steve has to fight him from pulling the both of them down onto the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a stack of pallets and starts dragging Danny towards them, Danny protesting the entire short distance. “No. I don’t wanna move.”

“Trust me, Danny,” he says more out of desperation than anything else and is shocked to hear Danny just say okay and start shuffling as well as he can along with Steve. Their fall down onto the pallets is anything but graceful but at least they’re off of the cold ground. Danny’s landed half on top of him and he still has his arms wrapped around Danny’s waist so he pulls Danny closer and hopes that their combined residual heat is enough to keep them alive until someone lets them out. Steve's limbs are numb, his teeth are chattering and he's shivering uncontrollably, but Danny isn’t which terrifies him. He holds Danny closer in a vain attempt to warm him, but all it does is make him realize just how cold Danny is.

Now that they don’t have a clear mission in mind Danny takes it upon himself to fill the lull, “You’re really pretty... you know that?” Danny starts, blue lips slowly forming the words while he stares up at Steve, and even though he’s delirious and concussed he still manages to look so fond that Steve’s heart stutters, “Of course you know that-”

“Danny, I am begging you. Shut up,” Steve demands before Danny says something that Steve can't help but react to.

“You know what you don’t know, though? I like it,” Danny says and then he’s moving, fumbling his way around so that he’s sitting in Steve’s lap and looping his bound arms around his neck, “I really like it.”

Steve’s going to blame the fact that he isn’t protesting this on his own delirious state and not the fact that Danny just rolled his hips like he’s trying to rub off on Steve and thus playing out the beginning of about half of Steve’s fantasies. Steve’s momentarily distracted by the unmistakeable sound of gunfire from outside the freezer, but his attention snaps back to Danny when he leans forward so that his head is in the crook of Steve’s neck and licks him.

“Ocean,” is all Danny says and apparently Steve’s libido didn’t get the message that he’s about ten minutes from freezing to death because his dick is making a really valiant attempt at showing his interest. He vaguely registers that the gunfire has stopped and part of him is really hoping that Chin and Kono are going to bust the door open and rescue them.

An even bigger part of them hopes that they won’t so that he and Danny can play out whatever this is.

Danny lifts his head, stubbled cheek sliding over Steve’s own and he wants to lose himself in that sensation, “You should kiss me,” Danny whispers just as the freezer door opens and Chin charges in with three HPD officers in tow and god Steve wishes they had waited just a few more seconds so that Steve could do exactly what Danny was asking him too, but then they’re lifting Danny off of him as gently as they can and carrying him out. Steve want’s to protest, but his brain can’t quite figure out how to make the words before Chin and the remaining officer are lifting him off of the pallet and he loses consciousness.

\---

He wakes to the sound of a beeping heart monitor and Danny talking. His voice is quiet and there’s no reply so Steve figures that he must be on the phone. Grace probably, if the gentle tone is any indication. Steve watches him talk until he finally says goodbye and hangs up.

“Grace?” Steve asks and notices his voice is hoarse.

“Hey Sleeping Beauty,” Danny says in that same soft voice, shifting to look at him, “yeah that was Grace. She wanted to know how I was doing before she went to bed. How are you?”

“Tired. How long we been here?”

“Closing out our second day, Princess,” Danny says and slides off the bed, dragging an IV pole behind him as he crosses the room to Steve’s bed.

“I’m not a princess,” is all he manages.

“Well I'm not the one who passes out so ergo, you are the princess,” Danny makes it to his bedside and takes his hand.

“Am not.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” he relents, his voice going even softer and that fond look is back, the one that Steve is never quite sure how to respond to, “You’re the knight in shining armor,” and after a beat, “you saved my life.”

“You would have done the same,” Steve says and he know’s it’s true. If their roles were reversed Danny would have done everything in his power to help Steve when he couldn’t help himself. They fall into silence for a while, Steve staring at Danny and Danny staring at the space around Steve’s elbow until it’s Steve who breaks the silence, “Do you remember?”

Danny seems to mull over his response before he finally says, “Yeah, it’s a little hazy but I remember everything.”

“So that last thing you said,” and Steve can’t bring himself to finish the question he’s not sure he’s asking.

Danny's cheeks flush and, unhelpfully, Steve realizes that he likes seeing Danny flustered. Danny is silent for a long time and Steve starts to think that he won’t say anything.

“I meant it,” he finally says and Steve can hear his heart start racing, echoed by the beep of the heart monitor beside him.

“Come here,” he says, tugging on Danny’s hand to encourage him to bend down.

“If you’re going to punch me just remember that I am severely concussed,” Danny says, but he leans down anyway.

“I’m not going to punch you,” Steve says and reaches up to pull Danny down far enough that he can kiss him.

When the finally break apart Danny smiles and says, "You know, I always figured that it would take one of us almost dying to do this."

"Shut up," Steve says and kisses Danny again.


	15. Visiting Another Country

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny was slowly breaking down every single one of his carefully crafted walls and Steve didn’t know if he wanted Danny to stop or work faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long chapter! This chapter is an AU where Steve is still with the SEAL's and Danny is now a journalist assigned to write a story to raise support for soldiers overseas.

“Attention!” Major Somners barked as he entered the barracks and every man in the room snapped to attention. Steve stood at the end of his cot as Somners inspected the men before finally saying, “At ease men. I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of your team.”

As if on cue a second man stepped forward to stand next to Somners. He was short, the top of his head barely reaching Somners’ shoulder, but he was stocky. He had a pack slung over one shoulder and was wearing civilian clothes: black combat boots, blue jeans rolled up at the cuffs, and a light t-shirt with a beaten up green jacket over the top. His long blond hair was swept back over his head and he had about a days worth of stubble on his face. He definitely was not military, that much was clear, and the man earned more than a few confused looks from the team.

“This is Danny Williams, he’s a reporter for Time Magazine and he will be shadowing you during the entirety of your next assignment,” the Major explained. From the back of the barracks Petty Officer Simpson, one of the latest additions to the team, spoke up first.

“Permission to speak freely, Sir?”

“Granted.”

“Well… why sir?” Simpson asked, sounding more insulting than inquisitive.

“Well, it seems like the folks back home are losing faith in what the military is doing overseas. The higher ups seem to believe that if Mr. Williams here writes a nice little article about us, it will boost the support back home,” Somners explained to the men, managing to sound both condescending and welcoming of Williams at the same time.

“Well, no offense to Mr. Williams but what we do isn’t exactly sitting in a cushy office and typing human interest stories,” Simpson continued and by the way Somners was smirking Steve could tell that Williams would get no backup from him, “If we go out into the field with him and start getting shot at I don’t want to be responsible for watching the back of some civilian who’s played a little too much Call of Duty and thinks he can do what we do. Does he even have any training?”

Somners opened his mouth to respond, but Williams beat him to the punch, stepping in front of him to look Simpson directly in the eye for his dressing down, “Twelve years Newark Police Department. Let me break that down for you, that’s five years as a beat cop, two with major crimes, one with narcotics then four as a homicide detective. I was taking down murderers while you were still in pull-ups. Now I’m working on my fifth year as a war correspondent and in that time, I have been shot, kidnapped, and practically blown up. All the while living in conditions that would make these barracks look like the Bellagio. So why don’t you worry about watching your own back? I can take care of my own.”

Steve watched as Williams confronted Simpson, captivated by the way he waved his hands around like they were just as much of a weapon as Steve’s rifle was. When he finished his little rant Simpson looked suitably chastised and it took a herculean effort for Steve to suppress the laughter trying to bubble out of him. If Steve had a type, this Williams guy was definitely.

The barracks fell into silence and Steve watched as Williams pulled himself up to his full height. He may have been a good deal shorter than everyone else in the room, but Steve had no doubt that he could hold his own against any of them.

“McGarrett!” Somners barked and Steve snapped back to attention, “Williams will be with you until his assignment is over.”

“Yes sir,” Steve says and salutes. He doesn’t miss the roving looks that Williams gives him like he’s trying to size Steve up. When the major leaves and the barracks return to their normal state of semi-relaxed he hears some of the guys start to rib on Simpson. Steve turns his full attention to Williams and takes a good look at him for the first time as he drops his bag on the empty cot next to Steve and offers his hand.

“Danny,” Williams says and Steve introduces himself, noting that William’s expression is guarded, but Steve can see a light in his eyes. He takes his hand and notices the calluses, the strong grip and he wonders what it would feel like for Williams to run his hands across other parts of Steve’s body. He quickly pushes those ideas away and releases William’s hand like it’s burned him.

\---

The team moves out early the next day, loading into humvees before the sun is even up. Danny is in the back between him and Prescott, Wilcox driving, and Andersen in the passenger seat. Simpson, Murray, Walsh, and Evans loaded into the follow vehicle along with most of their gear. Williams seemed focused today, and as soon as they were off base he started talking, hands alternating between waving wildly and jotting notes in his little notebook. He started asking the men simple questions to get to know them; how long they had been with the SEAL’s, why did they choose to join. Every once in awhile, if something sparked a memory Williams would share a story of his own which often spurred either laughter or a long conversation.

Steve noticed the change in attitude immediately. Where last night Danny had been prickly today he was open, less defensive and it took Steve a moment to realize that last night had all been posturing. He understood the act, Danny was coming into a group of Navy SEAL’s just before a mission, he had to show that he could handle his own and do it quick. Simpson had just been unlucky enough to be at the receiving end of that.

By the time they got out of town and into the mountains Danny had, at least, six pages of notes and the atmosphere inside the vehicle was decidedly less frosty than it had been when they set out.

\---

Their mission was to watch the hideout of the leader of a local terrorist cell. Intelligence reported that he could be headed to the jungle location but not when, so they were to set up camp and monitor the area. If and when the target showed they were to move in and take him out.

Until then it was a lot of waiting.

They set up camp about a mile from the complex, a half hour’s hard trek through overgrown jungle separating them from their mark. Danny shadowed him as he did recon of the area, following him with a surprising level of stealth and quickly becoming a familiar presence at his side. He didn’t speak while they did their recon though Steve could tell that he was nearly bursting with the refrain.

Only after they set up camp and started in on dinner did Danny start to speak again, asking the other four the same questions as he did the men in Steve’s humvee and writing everything down in that little notebook. The scratch of his pen became almost as constant as the buzz of the bugs around them and Steve couldn’t help but notice the way the tendons in his arm moved as he scribbled notes as quickly as he could. When he noticed the small tattoo just between Danny's thumb and pointer finger he had to tear his eyes away and focus on the trees.

Just after dinner, he told Danny to catch some shut-eye because they had the midnight watch.

\---

Steve woke as soon as Evans tapped him on the shoulder to tell him that it was his time for the watch. He gave a quick nod and Evans trotted off to head back to sleep. Steve rolled his head to the side to wake Danny and had to take a moment to collect himself at the sight.

Danny was sleeping on his side facing Steve. His hair was mussed and Steve noticed that the ends were starting to curl now that the gel was wearing out. His face was slack, making him look less haggard, and his lips were parted just a little. Steve watched as his chest slowly rose and fell and after too long he mentally shook himself and sat up, reaching over to shake Danny awake. He grumbled as he woke and Steve could feel his heart start to race as Danny slowly blinked the sleep from his eyes.

“We’re on watch,” Steve told him, standing up and pretending that the hoarseness of his voice was due to sleep and not the way that Danny gave him a small smile when he realized he was looking at Steve.

They left Prescott on watch at the camp and forty minutes later relieved Murray from the watch at their viewpoint of the complex.

\---

“How long have you been in the Navy?” Danny asked as soon as they had gotten settled in.

“I went to Annapolis right after high school,” Steve said and trained his binoculars on the south end of the complex.

“Did you ever think of doing anything else?” Danny questioned, voice quiet but still too loud in the night.

“Never.”

They fell into silence for a while, Steve watching the compound and Danny staring into the sky somewhere around the southern cross, before Danny huffed and started talking again, “You gotta give me more than that, Babe. I’m a good writer, but I need _something_ to work with.”

“I’m answering your questions aren’t I?” Steve snapped a little too harshly, “Why do you want to know this stuff anyway?”

“I’m trying to present you all as individuals. Right now to the people sitting on their couch at home you are a soldier, capital s. You are nothing but a number, a face in the crowd and you mean nothing to them. It’s my job to make you matter, to make your story resonate with them, make you the person Joe Schmoe from around the corner remembers from high school, or church, or work. Your CO’s want people to care about the war again, to do that they need to care about you and to do that they need to know who you are. So I will ask you again, did you ever consider another career?”

Steve stared at Danny for a long time. The sudden outburst was unexpected and he felt himself being entranced by Danny’s conviction.

“Sports Medicine,” Steve said and Danny practically lit up with the confession, “I was the quarterback in my high school and I always thought that it was interesting.”

“That’s good, that’s great,” Danny said, shifting closer and now Steve could feel the heat radiating off of his body in the cool night air, “Why did you choose the Navy?”

Steve looked through the binoculars, scanning the compound and resolutely ignoring Danny, but he must have a nose like a bloodhound for leads because he just sat and waited for Steve. After what seemed like hours Steve’s resolution crumbled and he started talking again, “My mother died. A car accident and after... my dad was never...” Steve stopped to collect his thoughts before telling Danny anymore, “After she died the family was never the same. My dad sent my sister and me to live on the mainland and after that, the Navy seemed like the only option for me.”

“Why?” Danny whispered so quietly that Steve had to struggle to hear him.

“My grandfather served in the Navy during World War II. His body is still entombed at Pearl Harbor. My father served in Vietnam. I was eighteen when everything happened and I… I thought that if I made him proud of me that he would bring us back home.” he forced out the last bit and kept his eyes focus on his target.

“And being in the Navy would make him proud?” Danny asked, still so quiet that Steve was a little put off by it.

“Yeah,” Steve said, much quieter this time. A moment later he felt Danny’s hand on his shoulder and heard the quiet ‘thank you’. Danny took his hand away after a moment, but the heat from it lingered long after.

Danny didn’t ask any more questions that night.

\---

The problem with Danny being assigned to shadow him was that Steve liked Danny. Sure he had grown on the other guys in the team too, they had almost come to accept him as one of the team, but Steve was with Danny 24/7 and after a while the professional questioning turned into personal conversations. Steve felt himself slipping closer and closer to Danny and that couldn’t happen. The team could. not. know about Steve. _Especially_ not in the middle of a sensitive mission.

The problem was, once Danny got under your skin he was bound and determined to stay there. After a week passed he had practically revealed his entire life story to Danny which wouldn’t have been bad if not for the fact that Danny told Steve everything he asked about and more. Steve always wanted to hear more and Danny was happy to oblige.

Then there was all the touching. Danny was a tactile guy, he was always reaching out and the team had accepted that, although some of them did it a bit reluctantly. The problem was that Danny didn’t touch anyone nearly as much as he touched Steve.

And then there was the smiling. Steve could happily get lost in Danny’s smiles. He had studied every one of them, the happy ones that made his face light up and his eyes shine, the sad ones that left him somber for some time after, the fond ones. Jesus, did he know all about the fond ones.

Danny was slowly breaking down every single one of his carefully crafted walls and Steve didn’t know if he wanted Danny to stop or work faster.

\---

It was halfway through their third week in the jungle when their target arrived at the compound. Simpson radioed to camp as soon as he confirmed it and within seconds, everyone was on alert. Gone was the easy atmosphere, replaced by a sense of trepidation. Someone was always peering out into the jungle on alert, their downtime less restful than just a few hours previous.

Two hours before they planned to execute the raid, Steve was leading Danny to a rendezvous point a little ways down the mountain where he would wait for the team before they regrouped and make their way another mile downhill to the extraction point. They had only been gone from camp a few minutes before Danny started speaking, voice low as they moved through the underbrush.

“How do you feel? About moving in tonight?” Apparently Danny was back in business mode.

“Same as always. Excited, a little apprehensive.”

“Do you ever get scared before a mission?”

“Not anymore.”

They made it another couple hundred yards before Danny spoke again.

“I’m bisexual.” He said it no nonchalantly, like saying that he was hungry or tired, that Steve actually stumbled in his shock, “I just thought that you should know.”

Steve didn’t respond to that, but he knew that the humming in his veins was due more to the man two steps behind him than the firefight he was going to be in later. They walked the rest of the way to the small clearing in silence and Steve got him set up in a spot with decent cover from both the elements and any prying eyes.

“We should be back in three hours, four maximum,” Steve said, checking his watch and trying to stay professional, “if we’re not back by 0100 head directly down the hill to the rendezvous point and get out. There’s a GPS in your bag, the location is already plugged in. Do not wait for us, this ride is a one time deal. Do you understand me?” Danny gave him a nod, trying to hide his nervousness.

Steve turned to leave but stopped as soon as Danny grabbed his arm, “What if one of the terrorists find me? I’m completely defenseless here.”

“No one’s going to find you, Danny,” Steve tried to reassure both Danny and himself, but now the thought was niggling at the back of his mind. With a sigh he let his rifle hand by the strap and took his service pistol out of his thigh holster, checked it and handed it to Danny, “Don’t shoot any of us.”

“Yeah, thanks. I’ll try to remember that,” Danny scoffed, but Steve could see the relief in his face.

“I have to go,” Steve said and tried to leave only for Danny to grab him again. The desperation with which he said ‘wait’ had Steve stopping dead in his tracks. He didn’t even have time to ask what for before Danny was kissing him, pressing the full length of his body against Steve’s and holding onto him with a desperate grip. He was just starting to pull away when Steve finally got with the program and wrapped his arm around Danny’s waist, holding him close and returning the kiss with just as much vigor as Danny. By the time they broke apart Danny was breathing heavily and Steve could barely think straight.

“Be safe,” Danny said once he caught his breath and trailed his free hand down the front of Steve’s tac vest.

“I’ll be back,” Steve told him and ran back into the jungle before he worked up the nerve to kiss Danny again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually really like this idea and think I might (eventually) develop it into a full stand alone story. Thoughts?


	16. Celebrating a Holiday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve let out a laugh which drew a couple quick glances, before reading her last line.
> 
> Will you be home for Christmas, Uncle Steve? I think that would be the best present of all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that this is more than half over already! Thank you to everyone who had been leaving kudos and comments, you make all my sleep deprivation worth it.

Steve was lounging on his bunk, reading a book and half asleep when a private came in announcing mail delivery. Everyone in the barrack perked up as the private started to call out names, tossing letters and packages to their respective owners. Steve turned back to his book, not expecting anything until he heard the private read his name last. Steve called to him and a small bundle of letters was tossed in his direction. He dropped his book just in time to catch the parcel and set about untying the wrapping around his letters. There were four and he flipped through them to see if anything was urgent. The first three looked to be junk, but the last, and largest, one was postmarked from Hawaii and Steve recognized the writing as Danny’s.

He tore into the junk one’s first, tossing out two credit card applications and a notice from the neighborhood watch before grabbing Danny’s from off of the bed beside him. He slowly ran his hand over the envelope before gently tearing it open and pulling out a stack of papers.

The first was from Kono, letting him know all about the choice waves that he was missing and how the wedding plans were proceeding. She ended with saying that if he missed the wedding that he would return to Oahu to face the wrath of every Kalakaua auntie on the island. He finished her letter with a smile and refolded it, placing it next to him. The next letter was Chin’s. He talked a lot about the latest Five-O cases before letting him know that Kamekona was making rumblings about starting a tour bus company. Steve couldn’t help but chuckle at the image of the big man’s face plastered on the side of a coach bus as it drove around the city. When he finished Chin's letter he placed it with Kono’s.

The next three pages were all from Danny, filled front and back in his cramped writing, and Steve read as Danny wrote about everything and nothing. He could practically hear Danny ranting about the perp who had t-boned the Camaro and how Danny was forced to drive Steve’s truck- which he said always made him feel like a kid when he was behind the wheel- while it was in the shop. On the final page, Danny’s writing turned softer as he told Steve about how Grace had placed third in her last tennis match and informed him that there would be hours worth of footage to watch of things he had missed out on over the last several weeks.

Danno finished his letter with ‘ _I miss you_ ’ and, not for the first time, Steve thought about how unfair this all was. He had had four months with Danny. Four months of being allowed to touch, and hold, and kiss, before he was called back for a mission. Now ten days away from Christmas, he was stuck in a desert halfway around the world instead of wrapped around Danny in their bed, not that Steve was calling it that outside of his own mind. Yet.

He read through Danny’s letter again, a little less enthusiastically, before setting it down with the others and opening Grace’s. She talked all about how school was going and how much she missed him. He read about how she had picked out the perfect Christmas gift for Danno but didn’t want to write it in the letter in case he was snooping. Steve let out a laugh which drew a couple quick glances, before reading her last line.

_Will you be home for Christmas, Uncle Steve? I think that would be the best present of all._

He stared down at the letter, blinking away the tears that threatened to fall. God how he wished that he could be back home for Christmas. Before he had any more time to stew on everything, his CO walked into the barracks with an, “Up and at ‘em men! Pack your gear we’re moving out in ten.”

\---

Five days they had been camped out in the mountains waiting. Five days of nothing to do but sit and think about everything that he was missing back home. Steve glanced at his watch and did some quick math, it would be six in the morning in Hawaii. Danny would just be getting out of bed, his automatic coffee maker already waiting with a cup of Kona for when he eventually stumbled into the kitchen. He sighed as the image of Danny making breakfast in nothing but his boxers flitted through his mind.

He quickly pushed the image from his mind when Gaines announced, “Movement on the North ridge.”

\---

Steve groaned as Exter, their medic, held another bandage to his wound and yelled to someone to hold it there. He felt the pressure shift as someone else took up Exter’s position and then someone was prying his eyes open.

He remembered the bullet hitting him, tearing right through his flak jacket and lodging itself in his side, but he didn’t remember much after that. The whole thing was a mistake. The terrorist getting in one last lucky shot before being taken out, the bullet finding a home in the weaker part of his protective gear, even Steve being in this mission to begin with. It was all a mistake.

He could hear Exter talking to him but it was muffled like he was underwater and his vision was fading. An image of Danny and Grace came to him just before he lost consciousness and his last thought was that this would be the last mistake he would make.

\---

Steve woke the next day in a hospital bed in Berlin. He watched, groggily, as a nurse checked his vitals and redressed his wound before falling back into the blackness.

\---

He woke again a couple hours later to a doctor calling his name and fought to open his eyes against the effect of the drugs.

“Glad for you to be with us again, Commander,” the doctor said with a heavy German accent, “You are a very lucky man.”

“What happened?” Steve managed to get out despite the hoarseness of his voice.

The doctor poured a glass of water and handed it over before explaining, “The bullet lodged itself just below your rib cage. You suffered a lot of blood loss, but overall there was very little damage. So far you have been healing nicely and we hope to have you out of here in a couple of days.”

“What day is it?” Steve asked after another drink of water.

“Monday the twenty-first. I’ll let you get some rest now,” the doctor said and left.

\---

Besides the occasional visit from a nurse to check his vitals Steve only had one visitor, at his own request.

“Are you sure about this Commander?” the man asked for about the fifth time, looking over the stack of papers that Steve had spent the last hour reading over and signing.

“I’m surer than I've ever been in my life,” Steve responded and that seemed to appease the man because he signed the papers before handing half of them back over the Steve.

“This will take a couple of days to process, but I foresee no complications. All of your travel has been planned for as soon as you are released. I wish you a speedy recovery,” he said and snapped off a salute which Steve returned as best he could.

\---

Hawaii was in the middle of a week of record high temperature when Steve got home and he smiled, just knowing that Danny would be bitching about it. He grabbed his bag off of the luggage carousel and shouldered it, wincing as the movement pulled at his stitches, and walked out of the terminal to find a cab.

The driver he found didn’t talk as he drove and Steve appreciated the silence. Steve perked up as the cab pulled in front of Danny’s house and the cab driver spoke to him for the first time since they left the airport.

“That’ll be twenty bucks,” he said, even though the meter told Steve that it was twice that. He handed the driver the full fare plus a little extra and moved to get out of the car before the driver stopped him, “Woah man, this is way too much!”

“Just consider it a holiday tip,” he said and closed the door as the man yelled ‘ _Mele Kalikimaka_ ’ through the closed window and drove off. Steve turned and stared at the house, letting it sink in for the first time that he was finally home for good.

Danny’s house was decorated in colored string lights and he smiled when he saw someone moving through the front window. Shouldering his pack again he went up to the front door, taking a deep breath before knocking.

He could practically feel his body vibrating with excitement, knowing that Danny and Grace were just on the other side of the door. Danny yelled that he was coming and Steve smiled as he heard Danny trip over something and then promptly tell Grace to pick whatever it was up off of the floor. Steve’s heart was in his throat as he heard to deadbolt slide out of the lock and then Danny opened the door; he didn’t say anything for a long time, just stood there with one arm still on the door knob and stared up at Steve.

“Hi,” Steve breathed, breaking the silence. Danny opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when Grace screamed “Uncle Steve” and barreled into him, wrapping her arms around him and latching on like she was never going to let go again. He hid his wince as best he could, but he knew that Danny still caught it. That finally shocked Danny into responding and he stepped forward, hesitatingly reaching out a hand towards Steve, almost as if he didn’t believe what he was seeing was real.

“You’re home,” Danny said and pulled him down into a desperate kiss, “What happened to you? Why didn’t you call?” Danny asked as he stepped away.

“Later,” he said, wiping the wetness away from Danny’s cheek, not wanting to explain that he got shot in front of Grace, “I have a present for you.”

Danny took the papers that he held out and stared at them, flipping through them a few times before looking Steve in the eye again, “What is this?”

“I’m out,” he explained, resting one hand on Grace’s shoulder and reaching out for Danny with the other who took it automatically.

“Out?”

“No more missions. No more training. I’m out,” Danny’s eyes went wide as he elaborated and he could feel Danny’s grip tensing as the significance set in. Then Danny dropped the papers and his hand and pulled him down into a bone crushing hug that Steve sank into.

“Merry Christmas,” Steve said, smiling even as he felt tears making their way down his cheeks to land on Danny’s shirt.


	17. On Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of all the places that Steve would like to get shore leave, Newark is right down at the bottom of the list. That didn't stop his Commanding Officer from granting everyone three days leave with orders that they all better leave base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a late start on this chapter, every time I started it I got three sentences in and hated it, so it's a bit shorter than the last ones.

Of all the places that Steve would like to get shore leave, Newark is right down at the bottom of the list. That didn't stop his Commanding Officer from granting everyone three days leave with orders that they all better leave base. For a second Steve entertained the notion that he could just find somewhere on base to hang out until Monday morning, but the knowing look that the CO leveled at him quickly derailed that train of thought.  So he reluctantly booked a hotel room and caught a ride into the city.

Steve used Thursday night and half of Friday to get caught up on sleep. Then, as with every time he gets some free time, he made the obligatory calls to Mary and his father. It’s three in the afternoon by the time he gets off the phone with his father and by six o’clock he’s going stir crazy in his room.

At six thirty he finally broke down and went to ask the concierge about a good restaurant nearby.

\---

After dinner Steve found himself in Clancy’s bar, three beers in before nine o’clock rolled around, but there were reruns of a football game on over the bar and some pretty decent bar snacks so he kept ordering more. It wasn’t the worst way he had found to spend a Friday night.

Near eleven the TV had switched to hockey and he was considering calling it a night when the bar door burst open and a group of guys stumbled in, handing off of each other and fumbling their way to the largest table in the place. Once they got there the shortest guy in the group, a blond with broad shoulders, stood on top of one of the chair and clamped his hands down on one of the other guys who Steve could now see was holding what looked like a bowling ball attached to a chain around his left leg.

“Gentlemen!” The blonde yelled, and every man in the party sat up, “As we all know, our dear Tom here is getting married next weekend,” he continued a little quieter and shook the other man gently by his shoulders, “Thus! It it our duty, our mission, our _obligation_!” the blonde said and paused for dramatic effect, “To show him the best damn night of his life!”

He punctuated the sentence by planting a firm kiss to the engaged guy's temple and the party erupted into cheers even as the bartender yelled at the blonde to get off of the chair.The blond made his way over to the bar and Steve watched, captivated, with each cocksure step right until he stopped at the bar right next to Steve.

“Ian, I need eight shots and eight beers. Please and thank you.”

“You gonna stand on my furniture again, Williams?” the bartender- Ian- asked and the blonde let loose a devastating grin that was more _who-me_ than _of-course-i’ll-stay-off-the-furniture_. Ian gave him a disbelieving grunt but set to pouring the drinks anyway.

Steve watched out of the corner of his eye as Williams looked up to the game before his gaze wandered down to glance over him. Steve kept his eyes glued to the TV, his first instinct was to try and flirt with this guy because he hit all of Steve’s markers but Steve wasn’t familiar with how accepting this guy would be to Steve’s advances. But as the beers slowly appeared in front of the guy he still kept staring at Steve until he felt the need to break the tension slowly creeping between them.

“Can I help you?” he asked, turning to the blond and, _fuck_ , he was attractive up close. Steve didn’t even know that eyes could be that color blue.

“No, just enjoying the view,” the guy said coolly and cast his glance up and down Steve’s body. Apparently he would be very accepting of Steve's advances.

\---

After Danny introduced himself properly, he made sure about setting his friends up with plenty of alcohol to keep them placated and made his way back over to Steve. Before he knew it Steve’s last beer of the night turned into round three with Danny and by the time that midnight rolled around he was feeling _really_ good because Danny’s touching over the night started to last longer and Steve was pretty sure where this night was headed.

There were very few other interpretations when Danny had his hand _that_ high on Steve’s thigh.

What was even better was that Danny was genuinely interesting to talk to. They swapped stories about work and friends and the way Danny’s face lit up when he talked about something that he liked had Steve’s heart going funny.

It was nearly one when Steve said, “Won't your friends be missing you if you're with me all night?”

“Babe,” Danny had explained that the name was just a Jersey thing and he should just get used to it, “This is our fifth bar of the night. They’re not gonna remember even being here let alone me slipping out on them.”

That was all the go ahead Steve needed to lean forward until his lips were just brushing Danny’s ear and murmuring, “So, wanna get out of here then?”

“It’s about damn time,” Danny said sliding off of the bar and leaving a generous tip for Ian as the bartender promised that he would make sure all of Danny’s friends got cabs.

It was only two blocks to Steve’s hotel but in between the frantic kissing and needy touching it took them twenty minutes to make it through the front door. They played it cool as they walked through the lobby and rode up the elevator but as soon as they got onto Steve’s empty floor Danny was attacking his neck with a vigor that made Steve weak in the knees. It took three tries for Steve to get his key card in the door and when he finally got the door open he pushed Danny inside, closing the door behind him and thinking that maybe Newark wasn’t as bad as he thought after all.

 


	18. Eating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Why you suddenly decided to visit me all the way in Italy. Why you’re not in Afghanistan where I know the rest of your team is,” she said and paused as if contemplating whether to continue or not. The problem was, Cath never pulled punches when she was around him, “why you walked in here trying to hide a limp?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another AU, and I honestly did not mean for this one to be so long. This chapter is set in Positano, Italy. Danny moved there with Grace to work in his Uncle's cafe after Rachel died, Catherine moved there after leaving the Navy and gets a job in the cafe. Steve is visiting Catherine after an accident and meets Danny through Catherine.
> 
> Today's prompt was eating so in every little section someone is either eating or there is a mention of eating.

“Close your eyes and try this,” Catherine said, leaning across the small table as soon as Steve sat down in the cafe _il panettiere allegra_.

“The last time someone said that to me Mary shoved a dirty sock in my mouth,” Steve said and leveled a suspicious glance at the bit of pinkish food resting on the spoon Catherine was holding out.

“Just eat it,” she said and gave him an exasperated sigh.

“Fine,” he said and- with eyes wide open- leaned forward, ate the food and immediately moaned as it practically melted in his mouth, “Oh my god. Cath, what _is_ that?”

“It’s good right! It’s pannacotta,” she said and took a bite for herself, “Danny made it and if you think this is good, you should try his apple torte. I seriously thought I had died and gone to heaven the first time I ate it.”

“Danny?” he asked, “That doesn’t sound very Italian.”

“Nah, Danny’s from Jersey but he moved out here like a year ago after his wife died. I guess his mom’s Italian and he has a bunch of family over here. This is actually his uncle’s cafe,” Cath explained, waving a spoon around as Steve took another bite of the pannacotta, “If you’re gonna stick around I'll introduce you guys some time,” she continued and he could hear the question that she wasn’t asking. When he didn’t answer she allowed him to eat in silence, stealing the last bite for herself. She finished it slowly before hesitantly meeting his eyes again, “So, are you gonna tell me?”

“Tell you what?” Steve asked, studiously avoiding her gaze.

“Why you suddenly decided to visit me all the way in Italy. Why you’re not in Afghanistan where I know the rest of your team is,” she said and paused as if contemplating whether to continue or not. The problem was, Cath never pulled punches when she was around him, “why you walked in here trying to hide a limp?”

Steve sighed and ran a hand over his face as he contemplated Cath’s questions and finally decided that there was no point in trying to hide anything, “Six months ago the team got ambushed in this tiny desert town. I was supposed to draw the fire away from the house we were in so that everyone could regroup and start suppressing fire. I got maybe a hundred feet away when there was an explosion behind me. Shrapnel got lodged in by back, some of it right up against my spine,” he started and he could see Cath’s eyes go wide with surprise and worry, “The first surgery went fine, but they couldn’t get it all out in the first go and uh… sixteen days. I was paralyzed from the waist down for sixteen days before I went through another surgery. They took out most of the rest of the shrapnel which helped but...” Steve trailed off and focused his gaze on his hands.

“But?” Cath asked him softly, resting one of her hands on top of his own for support.

“Partial paralysis in my left leg,” he said quietly, still avoiding her gaze as he finished, “The doctor says it’s permanent. Which makes me ineligible for active duty. So I got out and now here I am; I can’t be stuck behind a desk, Cath.”

“Steve,” she said and he met her sorrowful gaze, giving her a small smile.

\---

When Steve first saw Danny he was elbow deep in dough and flour. He was wearing a classic chef’s white jacket with the sleeves rolled up as far as they would go and was absolutely covered in flour and dough. His long blonde hair was swept back over his head and Steve watched the muscles in his arms move and flex as he kneaded the mound of dough.

“I brought a visitor, Danny!” Cath announced as she led him into the kitchen. Danny looked up as they entered and Steve could feel his heart stutter when he met Danny’s impossibly blue eyes. Danny gave him a slow once over and Steve felt himself flush under the scrutiny.

“You know I don’t like people in my kitchen,” he said with a thick Jersey accent, turning back to the dough.

“You don’t like anyone,” Cath said and grabbed some treat off of the counter, popping it in her mouth and chewing, “Don’t mind him,” she stage whispered to Steve, “he’s always a grump before his eighth cup of coffee.”

“I heard that,” Danny grumbled as Cath grabbed the coffee mug resting next to him and topped it off. Danny finished beating the dough into submission and moved it all to a bowl before placing it in a drawer and wiping off his hands, “So you must be the Steve I keep hearing about.”

Steve took his offered hand and shook it, “Only the good stuff I hope?” he asked with a laugh which draw a small smile from Danny.

“I seem to recall a couple particularly unflattering stories in there,” Danny said prompting Cath to defend herself saying, “Lies, don’t trust a word he says.”

That got a real smile from Danny and Steve knew that he was in trouble then.

\---

“So Cath said you were in an accident?” Danny asked and Steve tensed up. He watched as Danny placed a bottle of beer and a plate of cake next to him on the table, before walking up to the porch railing and looking out over the city, “How did that happen? If you don’t mind me asking,” he finished and took a drink from his own beer.

“I guess not,” he said, taking a bite from the cake, “It was an IED. Long story short I got peppered with shrapnel, two surgeries, and months of physical therapy later and here I am.”

“So you were in the military?” Danny asked, turning to face Steve and leaning back against the porch railing.

“I was,” he said, trying- and failing- to hide most of the bitterness in his voice. It wasn’t that he really missed being in the Navy anymore, but he did devote half of his life to it, he would have at least liked to leave it on his own terms, “Why did you move here?” he asked, desperate to change the subject.

“Well,” Danny said and took a long pull from his beer, “my wife died,” he said and Steve immediately felt like an ass, remembering that Cath had mentioned the same thing on the first day he got here a couple weeks ago.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” Steve said, trying to backpedal out of the disastrous route this conversation was taking.

“It’s fine. It’s been nearly three years now. Rachel was British. and sometimes if she wasn’t paying attention she would drift back onto the wrong side of the road. Pair that with a rainy night and a drunk driver and...yeah,” Danny trailed off, looking somewhere over Steve’s shoulder before composing himself again, “After that I just couldn’t stay in New Jersey anymore. Everything reminded me of her and Grace, she was a wreck. She was young enough where she didn’t fully understand what was happening, she just knew that she missed her mom. So a year ago I packed us up, quit my job with the police, sold everything and moved us over here. My mom’s got family all over here so it wasn’t like we were on our own, I've always baked the family recipes so I could step right in here, and… it’s been really good for us.”

“I’m sorry, man,” Steve said, but Danny gave him a wan smile.

“Hey, my Ma always said death brings new life. So… new life,” he said, waving his free hand around in the air.

\---

Somehow as the days ticked by, Steve and Danny became good friends. Though it wasn’t that much of a stretch seeing as they and Catherine were the only three Americans in town who weren’t tourists. Steve started hanging out at _il_ _panettiereallegra_ nearly every day. If it was busy he would help Cath deliver food and when it was quiet he would sit in the kitchen and talk with Danny, happily taste-testing whatever Danny was cooking at the time. On weekends when Grace was at the restaurant he would play with her and Steve didn’t miss the fond smile that Danny would  sometimes shoot their way.

And if Steve always returned those looks with a bright smile, well, who could really blame him?

\---

“I am telling you, Tino’s on Fifth. Best pizza I have ever had,” Danny said, drizzling some dark chocolate over fresh biscotti.

“Danny, you live in Italy!” Steve laughed, “Wasn’t the pizza like, invented here or something?”

“Not the point Steven,” Danny told him and Steve’s heart did that little flip that it always did when Danny called him by his full name, “Here,” Danny said, shoving one of the finished biscotti’s towards him.

Steve bit into it and moaned when the still warm chocolate hit his tongue, “I don’t understand it. How do you make everything taste so good?” He asked, brushing some crumbs off of his shirt and watched as a faint blush crept up Danny’s cheeks before he quickly turned away.

“Family secret,” was all he got in reply.

\---

“Try this,” Danny said, shoving a spoonful of batter towards Steve as soon as he walked through the kitchen door. Steve automatically leaned down and ate whatever it was off of spoon Danny was offering.

“Oh my god,” Steve said, holding a hand over his mouth in surprise.

“What? What is that? Does that mean it’s good? It’s terrible. Do you like it?” Danny rattled off the questions a mile a minute and Steve could hear the worry in his voice.

“Danny,” Steve grabbed Danny by both shoulders and held him in place, looking him straight in the eye so that Danny wouldn’t doubt his words, “That is one of the best things you have ever made. What is it?”

Danny immediately relaxed and sank into Steve’s touch, “Thanks, Babe. It’s a dark chocolate cherry cake I’m making for a wedding.”

“Will there be extra?” Steve asked hopefully as Danny moved back to the mixer and Steve followed.

Danny barked out a laugh, “Yes, there will be leftovers you goof,” he said, knocking his shoulder gently into Steve’s chest and he smiled when Danny didn’t move away.

\---

The cafe was closed and Steve was sitting out on the porch with Danny as the sun set into the ocean on the horizon. In front of them, the village was slowly coming back into view as light bled out of the houses on the other side of the cliff face. Steve had seen a lot of beautiful things in his life, but this one took the cake, especially when Danny wasn’t a foot away from him, Grace curled up and asleep on the loveseat across from them.

“So are you staying here then?” Danny asked, gaze never straying from the sunset even as he popped one of the leftover pieces of torrone in his mouth and Steve could feel the mood shift to something more serious.

“Depends,” Steve said and took a drink from his wine.

“On?”

“On if I find something to keep me here,” Steve said and looked Danny straight in the eye, hoping that he understood what Steve was trying to say. This thing between them, whatever it was, had been building since they first met and it was getting harder and harder for Steve to not just grab Danny and kiss him.

“And if some _one_ wants you here?” Danny asked, quieter this time.

“Then I would stay,” Steve said and watched as Danny slowly smiled, his crow's feet crinkling, Then he was rising out of his seat to stand in front of Steve, stepping in between his outstretched legs and resting his hands on the arms of Steve’s chair. Steve felt his pulse race as Danny’s scent hit him: a mixture of cologne, flour, and chocolate.

“You should know,” Danny said and Steve had to lean in he was speaking so softly, “I don’t do anything by half.”

“Good, because I don’t want anything less than everything,” he said and closed the short distance between them, tasting honey on Danny’s lips.

\---

Steve groaned as the morning sun started to stream in through the open windows and turned around in the bed to come nose to nose with Danny. He wrapped an arm around Danny’s waist and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.

“Morning,” Danny mumbled, voice still heavy with sleep and looking up bleary eyed at Steve.

“Morning,” Steve murmured, pressing a kiss to Danny’s lips.

“What time is it?” Danny asked, in between more kisses.

“Early,” Steve said, moving so that Danny was lying on his back and he was popped above him, “Plenty of time before work.”

“Is that right?” Danny asked with a smile, pulling Steve down for another lazy kiss, “Come on, I’ll make omelets,” Danny said, sliding out from beneath the sheet and Steve watched as he pulled on pajama pants and padded barefoot out of the bedroom.

“Put mushrooms in mine,” Steve called, pulling on his own pajama pants and following Danny out.


	19. Listening to Music

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s almost there when Danny notices him coming; he immediately lets go of the woman, who frowns but quickly finds another willing partner, and meets Steve face to face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I had no idea what to do for this chapter. I had about fifteen different ideas floating around in my head for this, but none of them seemed right. So this is what came out when I actually sat down to write.

“Why are we here again?” Danny asks over the roar of the crowded bar.

“Because our victim wanted to thank us for rescuing his from his kidnappers, so he gave us free tickets,” Steve dutifully tells him, even though he’s already told Danny that three times.

“I think I would have preferred a fruit basket,” Danny says and takes a long pull from his beer. They both relax in the now empty booth, abandoned by Chin to flirting some woman at the bar and Kono to dancing with Adam. Steve leans back in the booth, draping an arm behind Danny and getting comfortable, and focuses on the band. If he’s being honest with himself the band is actually really good, their songs are catchy and have a good beat for dancing. They’re not something that he would normally listen to, but right now he’s enjoying the show a lot. He watches out of the corner of his eye as Danny finishes his beer and leans back, pressing his side against Steve from knee to elbow.

That has a lot to do with Steve’s enjoyment of tonight too.

As soon as the song finishes the band announces that they’re going on a short break so Kono and Adam find their way back to the booth, sliding in and taking a drink from their now warm bottles.

“Having fun out there?” Danny asks as the couple try and catch their breath.

“Yeah _Brah_ , it’s great on the floor. You should go out there,” Kono says, sweeping her hair back out of her flushed face and putting it up, “I’m sure there are loads of people here who would like to cut a rug with you,” she tells Danny with a wink and Steve can feel himself blush at the idea.

“Nah, I’m pretty sure they’ve all got their eyes glued on you two,” Danny tells her and both she and Adam huff out a laugh because people could get arrested for some of the moves they were pulling out on the dance floor.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure there are some people here with their eye on you,” Kono says, only now she’s staring straight at Steve like she knows about every fantasy that he’s ever had of Danny. Which he honestly wouldn’t put it past her if she somehow figured out that Steve was stupidly in love with him. Neither of them says anything to that so they order another round and appreciate the sudden quiet until the band comes back on. They don’t have to wait long, Steve’s almost halfway through his beer when he sees them start to file back on stage to a round of applause. After a quick tune up they start right in again on a song that has the couple on the floor practically dancing on top of each other.

“Alright, come on,” Kono says taking another drink, sliding out of the booth and handing her hand out to Adam.

“Hon, I'm still trying to catch my breath,” Adam says apologetically and Kono rolls her eyes.

“Fine,” she grabs Danny by the arm and pulls him out of the booth. She's halfway to the dancefloor before Steve even has a chance to process Danny's disappearance from his side.

Steve watches as Kono drags Danny to the edge of the dance floor and starts to move and sway, moving Danny along with her until he apparently relents and starts to move of his own accord. As much as Steve’s made fun of Danny for how he dances, he’s never seen Danny dance like _this_. Like it’s his sole mission in life to get everyone in the room hot and bothered by the way he moves his hips. He pulls Kono close- as close is acceptable for him and his younger, married, friend- and starts to lead her body in time with his and Steve’s never wanted to be someone else so bad in his entire life.

He hears his gaze away before his body does something embarrassing and tries to make small talk with Adam. They get talking about last night football game and it’s almost captivating enough where he stops watching Danny. After a little while, Kono returns to the table without Danny and Steve looks over to see him sandwiched in between two beautiful women.

“You ready?” she asks Adam and he nods and starts to gather up their things, handing Kono her jacket and purse.

“You’re leaving?” Steve asks, not really wanting to be left sitting alone.

“Yeah, it’s late and I hear there’s going to be some choice waves tomorrow morning,” she pulls on her jacket and Steve’s eye is drawn back to Danny, “You know… _you_ could always go out there.”

“You know I can’t,” he tells her, not bothering to try and pretend he doesn't know what she's talking about because at this point he’s resigned himself to the fact that Kono knows everything.

“Why? Because you're his boss? Because you’re his friend? Because he’s not into that?” Kono asks and cuts him off before he can even think to say ‘ _yes, all three_ ’, “Because listen to me well, Bossman, _none_ of those excuses are valid.” The way she says it makes him do a doubletake and wonder if maybe he’s been missing something before she lands her finishing blow, “And let me say one more thing, the way he’s dancing with those women? He’s holding back.”

Steve blushes and Kono smiles before sauntering away. Steve looks back to Danny and notices for the first time how he keeps a space between them as much as he can, how his hands rest high on their waist- far from anything inappropriate- and how his movements seem a little stiff. He’s on his feet before he makes the conscious decision to move, crossing the space between the booth and the dance floor in just a couple long strides and muscling his way into the fray. This close to the band the music is almost deafening, the beat pulsing through him so that he can feel the bass better than his own heartbeat.

He’s almost there when Danny notices him coming; he immediately lets go of the woman, who frowns but quickly finds another willing partner, and meets Steve face to face.

“I was wondering when you would get out here,” Danny has to yell over the music and then he’s moving in, putting his hands low of Steve’s hips and closing the distance between them. Where just a minute ago Danny had been maintaining a respectful distance with everyone, now he was crowding Steve, moving so that he’s almost straddling one of Steve's legs and moving the both of them slowly to the beat.

Steve instantly regrets his decision. Pressed this close to Danny, with them bumping against each other every other second, there’s no way that he can hold back his reaction. He tries to keep it platonic, keep his hands to himself, but Danny slides his hands lower, dipping them into Steve’s back pockets and says, “You know, this would probably be a lot better if you touched me too.”

Just like that, it’s like a dam breaking and all of Steve’s restraint is gone. He pulls Danny flush, earning himself a pleased gasp, and wraps his arms around Danny, feeling the strong body that he hides underneath those dress shirts.

After not too much longer Danny pulls him down to whisper directly in his ear, “You wanna get out of here?”

“God yes,” Steve’s chokes out and leads Danny off of the dance floor.


	20. Watching Sports

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve knows that Danny played baseball in high school. He’s heard the torn ACL story a half dozen times, has seen the trophy’s that Danny’s mom shipped over after he moved into his new house, he’s even seen a couple of grainy photos of a player that may or may not be Danny- it’s hard to tell when it looks like the photo was taken from a half mile away. But as far as he knew, all of Danny’s baseball days were in the past.
> 
> Which is why it was such a surprise when Danny walked into the office one day and invited the whole team to watch his championship game.

Steve knows that Danny played baseball in high school. He’s heard the torn ACL story a half dozen times, has seen the trophies that Danny’s mom shipped over after he moved into his new house, he’s even seen a couple of grainy photos of a player that may or may not be Danny- it’s hard to tell when it looks like the photo was taken from a half mile away. But as far as he knew, all of Danny’s baseball days were in the past.

Which is why it was such a surprise when Danny walked into the office one day and invited the whole team to watch his championship game.

Steve had immediately agreed, an act which he is now debating the wisdom of because Danny is wearing a baseball t-shirt and tight black athletic shorts and the whole ensemble is doing nothing to hide the toned body underneath. He’s sitting on one of the team benches, one leg up on the seat as he ties the laces on his cleats.

“Hey Babe,” Danny greets him as soon as he walks up to the bench, “wasn’t sure if you’d make it. You’re the last one here.”

“Yeah, I got a call from Mary just as I was leaving the house,” he explains, and under no circumstances does he notice the way that Danny’s shorts bunch around his thighs.

“Ah, well, you’re here now. We’re about to start, but Chin and Kono are up on the bleachers with Grace if you wanna join them,” Danny says, pointing to where the three are sitting on the top row.  As soon as he turns around Grace stands up and waves to him. He gives her a quick wave before turning back to Danny.

“So what are you supposed to say before a baseball game, is good luck all right?”

“Yeah, good luck will do fine,” Danny tells him with a bright smile before shoving him towards the bleachers when the coach calls the team together.

“Hey, hit a homerun for me,” Steve calls teasingly over his shoulder as he walks up the bleachers only to hear Danny call back, “You got it, Babe.”

\---

The great thing about watching Danny play is that now Steve has two hours to just stare at Danny. The bad thing about watching Danny play is that he has _two hours_ to stare at Danny. It’s not like Danny is making this easy on him either. No one should be allowed to look that good in athletic shorts.

Chin and Kono make it easier with small talk when Danny is off the field and he can distract himself just enough to not make him look like a creep mooning over his partner. But when Danny is on the field, Steve doesn’t want to blink in case he misses something. He knew that Danny must have been a good player if the trophies were anything to go by, but it looks like even after all this time Danny hasn’t lost his touch. He’s easily one of the best players on the team.

It’s the bottom of the third inning and Danny is up to bat for the second time. Steve watches as he taps the bat against each cleat twice before taking a practice swing.and Steve makes a note to ask Danny about that because it’s the exact same thing he did last time he was at bat. Steve watches as the outfielders take a few steps back and then the pitcher it throwing the ball. The first ball goes wide, the second is a strike. Danny swings on the third pitch, there’s a loud _thwack_ and then the ball is sailing over the left outfielder's head. Danny takes off, rounding first with his sights set on second. Steve almost shouts when he sees the outfielder grab the ball and wind up to toss it to the second baseman, but Danny must know what’s happening because he drops to the ground, sliding into second just as the guy swings around to tag him.

Grace jumps up on the seat cheering when Danny stands, covered in dirt but smiling. Danny’s grin gets even bigger when his eyes land on Grace and he gives her a small wave before focusing back on the game.

\---

The inning ends and Danny’s team is leading 2-1 when they take the field again. Danny’ playing shortstop and he and the second baseman throw a ball around while the other team gets ready to bat. Steve alternates between chatting with Chin and Kono and staring at Danny as the game proceeds. When the team heads back in Danny has made one out and assisted on a second. This time, Danny is first up at bat and Steve watches as he does the same cleat tap and swing. He only hits a single, but they score two runs bringing them up to 4-2.

\---

Rachel shows up at the top of the seventh inning to get Grace who grumbles and begs to stay but eventually grabs her things. She gives them all hugs and races down to the team bench to catch Danny in a tight hug. Danny kisses Grace on the forehead just as Steve overhears two women talking just to the right of him.

“God, isn’t that just adorable?” one of the women says to her friends, “I wish I could find a guy like that, it’s a shame he’s married.”

“Danny?” her friend says and leans in close like they’re conspiring on something, “Oh no, Kai says that he’s single. Divorced.”

“Maybe I should try and make a move then,” the first woman says with a chuckle and Steve feels an irrational stab of jealousy.

\---

It’s the bottom of the ninth and Danny is up to bat again. There are runners on first and second with only one out and they’re leading by one run. The game is already won and everything now is just a formality, but Danny approaches the plate with the same vigor as if this were the World Series. He does his little routine and steps up to the plate, swinging on the first pitch this time.

Danny is moving before the crack of the bat even reaches Steve and he watches as the ball goes well over the midfielder's head and lands far in the outfield. Danny’s rounding second by the time someone reaches the ball and everyone on the stands is cheering. Steve watches as Danny rounds third and heads for home, crossing the plate a full second before the ball reaches the catcher. Everyone around Steve is cheering for the home run and Steve adds his own applause as Danny goes back to the bench.

Ten minutes later and the game is over, the players are each congratulating each other and he, Chin and Kono are heading down the bleachers to greet Danny who’s sweaty and dirty, but he’s got a megawatt smile on his face so Steve hugs him anyway.

“You were awesome, Danny,” Kono croons as she gives him a hug of her own. They chat for a little while before the cousins both say their goodbyes and it’s just Steve and Danny left.

“So, you wanna come over?” Steve asks, “I’ll grill some steaks.”

“As if I needed any incentive,” Danny says, tossing his cleats in his bag and shoving his sneakers back on, “I just need to catch the ump for a second then I'll follow you over.” Danny catches the umpire as he’s taking off his padding and Steve watches as he hands something over that Danny quickly shoves into his bag before jogging back, “Alright, let’s go.”

The drive back to the house is short and the sun is just starting to set when they walk into Steve’s house. He can feel Danny by his side as they grab some beers and head out onto the lanai. Danny takes a quick swig before pulling off his shirt, wiping his face off with the cleaner underside, and Steve nearly chokes as the sudden sight of a half-naked Danny.

Danny grabs a clean shirt out of his bag and pulls it on before reaching back in and grabbing something else out. It takes Steve a second to realize that it’s the game ball.

“Here,” Danny says, stepping far too close to Steve, so that they're toe to toe, and handing him the ball.

“What’s this?” he asks, taking it gently and turning it around to inspect it.

“Well, I told you I would hit you a home run,” Danny tells him and now he’s slowly trailing a hand up Steve’s arm.

“I thought you were joking,” is all Steve can think to say because most of his brainpower is shutting down as Danny _caresses_ him.

“Nah, see baseball players are superstitious. I never joke about scoring,” Danny tells him and Steve would laugh at the quite frankly horrible innuendo if not for the fact that Danny was tugging him down into a kiss.

\---

Much later, when they’re both lying sweaty and spent in tangled sheets on Steve’s bed he leans over to Danny, “So this was your _thing_ wasn’t it?” which earns him a confused little hum so he elaborates, “You know, in highschool, you would promise to hit a homerun for the girl to impress her. It was your move.”

Danny’s quiet for a long moment before he rolls to face Steve, smiling, “And it still works after all these years,” he laughs and cuts off Steve’s comeback with another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really just need to see Danny playing baseball in an episode... or several.


	21. On the Couch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Two reasons,” Steve says and hold up two fingers, “One, aside from you and Grace, I will be using this couch the most and two, you cannot be trusted to buy quality furniture. Case and point: the fold out.”
> 
> “Hey, that fold out served me well for a long time,” Danny says, more affronted that Steve thinks he can’t be trusted to buy his own furniture than by the actual dig to the couch.

“Tell me why you’re here again?” Danny asks Steve as they step into the mercifully air-conditioned furniture store.

“Two reasons,” Steve says and hold up two fingers, “One, aside from you and Grace, I will be using this couch the most and two, you cannot be trusted to buy quality furniture. Case and point: the fold out.”

“Hey, that fold out served me well for a long time,” Danny says, more affronted that Steve thinks he can’t be trusted to buy _his own furniture_ than by the actual dig to the couch.

“Danny, I have slept on cement floors more comfortable than that fold out,” Steve says pointedly just as a salesman spots them.

“Can I help you gentlemen with anything?” He asks, all smiles, and Danny instantly distrusts him. In his experience the only people as bad as lawyers are salesmen, they’re how he and Rachel ended up with a whole new bedroom set when they only went in to buy an end table.

“We need a couch,” Steve tells him at the same time Danny notifies him that they don’t need any help.

Steve just gives him another look before reiterating, “We’re looking for a new couch.”

If the salesman is discouraged by their behavior he does a good job of hiding it. “Well, my name is Tom, and our couches are in the back,” he starts walking and Steve immediately falls in line, leaving Danny no choice but to follow as well, “Is there any style that we’re looking for?” Tom inquires.

“No fold outs,” he and Steve say at the same time, earning them an almost startled look from Tom, but he quickly recovers.

“I think I can handle that,” Tom says with the first genuine smile Danny’s seen from him.

\---

“This one’s nice,” Steve declares, plopping down onto the leather sectional and settling in.

“It’s too big,” Danny says, not even bothering to sit.

“What do you mean?” Steve asks, eyes wide with confusion.

“You have seen my new place right? This will never fit in my living room, there won’t be any space left.”

“It is really nice, though,” Steve says again as he hauls himself out of his seat with a huff.

\---

“What about that one?” Steve asks, pointing to a couch at the end of the row.

“It’s _white_ ,” Danny says like that explains everything, which it should, but Steve has never had to bother buying real furniture before so he is not as learned in the ways of homemaking as Danny.

“So? It’s modern.”

“Yeah, right up until Grace decides to use it as a drawing table, or juice gets spilled, or God forbid someone decides to actually sit on it. Trust me, Babe, that couch won’t last a day at my place.”

\---

“What about this one?” Tom asks, showing them a leather loveseat that Steve promptly sits in.

“It’s comfy,” he informs Danny and pats the seat next to him, Danny rolls his eyes but sits anyway.

“Okay, it is comfortable, I will give you that,” he says after a second and Steve stretches an arm over the back, his fingers just grazing Danny’s shoulder and sending goosebumps down his spine, “It’s also too small,” he continues, standing back up and getting a little distance between him and Steve.

Steve frowns a little and Danny can’t tell if it’s because he stood up like he sat on a pile of hot coals or because he’s once again shooting down Steve’s ideas, “It’s just better to get acquainted,” Steve tells him and Danny doesn’t miss the little eyebrow waggle.

“Believe me, Babe, we are plenty well acquainted,” Danny says even as he's yelling at himself to take Steve up on that offer.

\---

“This one is a good family size,” Tom says, leading them around a corner to another stockpile of couches, and Danny starts to wonder just exactly how big this store is, “It’s leather so it’s easier to maintain than most of the one’s we’ve been looking at before and there’s a three year warranty just in case.”

This time, Danny is the first to sit on the couch and he sinks into the plush leather cushions, “ _Oh,_ ” he sighs and wiggles around for a better seat, “oh, this is nice.”

That prompts Steve to sit next to him, leaning back into the cushions and immediately startling when the bottom kicks out, “Danno, it reclines,” Steve says and Danny’s not sure he’s ever heard him more blissed out in his life so Danny kicks his own seat back until he’s level with Steve.

“Isn’t this nice?” Steve asks looking him in the eye and knocking his hand on Danny’s arm. He welcomes the warm weight, humming in agreement and closing his eyes to fully appreciate the moment.

Steve’s just started to rub one of his fingers across Danny’s arm when Tom speaks up, “So what do you think?” he asks and Danny’s eyes fly open, forgetting that the salesman has been watching them this whole time.

“It’s great, how much?” he asks, not bothering to sit up.

“This model is three thousand dollars.”

“Three thousand!” Danny stutters, kicking the foot rest down and standing up, “I am not paying _three thousand dollars_ for a couch.”

“Well, I have one more model you might like,” Tom says, pointing almost hesitantly over his shoulder.

\---

“This one is on sale for nine hundred, it’s the same style as the last one but without so many features,” Tom says and, spotting another couple looking lost, goes, “I’ll let you two think about which one you want, just find me or have me paged if you have any more questions.”

Danny watches as he scurries off to the probably saner couple and turns back to the couch in question. It is a decent size, he does like the style, and the fact that it’s on sale is doing a lot to sway his opinion in this couches favor. Danny sits in the middle and Steve joins him on his right, it’s just as plush as the previous one and Danny doesn’t ever want to have to get up from the seat.

“This one doesn’t recline,” Steve says, almost whining, and pushes against the back before slouching in his seat.

“I think you can find a way to manage,” Danny assures him then feels Steve pressing against his side. For a second Danny thinks that it’s just Steve leaning against him as he’s known to do, but then the pressure gets stronger and Danny is falling over, landing on his side with Steve sandwiched between him and the couch back.

“Uh, Steve,” Danny starts, and his breath absolutely does not hitch when Steve’s arm drapes around his waist, “What are you doing?”

“Managing,” Steve drawls, and Danny can feel his breath ghosting across the back of his neck and rustling his hair.

“Oh,” is all Danny can think to say before Steve tightens his grip around his waist and Danny find himself relaxing into it, Steve’s chest a comforting presence pressed against his back.

They stay like that for a long time, far longer than they should, and Danny would worry that Steve’s fallen asleep except for the fact that his thumb is tracing small circles just above Danny’s belly button and slowly driving him insane.

“So what do we think?” Tom asks, appearing out of nowhere and scaring the living daylights out of Danny.

“Yeah, yep. We’ll take it…. I’ll take it,” Danny stutters as he shoots up off of the couch, already missing the warmth of Steve pressed against him. He’s already headed to the register when he hears Steve jog up behind him and drape an arm over his shoulders.

“Can’t wait to get it to your house and break it in,” Steve whispers in his ear like he’s confiding some big secret and Danny has to count backward from ten in Russian to stop the blush from creeping up his neck, because the kind of ‘breaking in’ that Danny is thinking of probably has decidedly less clothing involved than what Steve is thinking. But then Steve moves his hand to Danny’s waist and gives it a gentle squeeze so maybe not.


	22. Watching TV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, Uncle Steve?” Grace asked quietly, clad in pajamas, standing barefoot on the bottom step and clutching a movie case to her chest.

“Hey, Uncle Steve?” Grace asked quietly, clad in pajamas, standing barefoot on the bottom step and clutching a movie case to her chest.

“What is it, Gracie?” Steve asked, closing up his case file, setting it down on the coffee table and turning to face her.

“I can’t sleep. Can we watch a movie until Danno gets home?”

“Of course sweetie,” he said with a small smile, patting the seat on the couch next to him, and Grace promptly came and curled up next to him, “So what are we watching?”

“Lilo and Stitch,” Grace told him and handed over the DVD case.

“Don’t you know this by heart already?” He knew for a fact that she did, but he got up off the couch without protest.

“It’s my favorite, it’s about _ohana_ ,” she explained, stifling a sleepy yawn as he popped the movie in the player.

This was the second night in a row that she hadn’t been able to sleep, worried about Danny, and had come to Steve. He understood her troubles completely, he had been having some sleeping problems of his own with Danny gone so much, pulled away until late in the night working surveillance with Chin for a drug trafficking case.

Steve wished that he could be working with Danny, at least then they would be on the same sleep schedule, but someone needed to be available for Grace and if they were both working, and with Rachel and Stan gone for two weeks on business, there would be no one to watch her. He knew that it was killing Danny to be away from Grace so much when they had her for so long, but the opportunity to put Glen Wilcox behind bars was too important, especially with the governor breathing down all their necks.

Steve settled back into his spot in the middle of the couch and Grace leaned into his side again, curling her feet up beside her. He pressed play and propped his feet up on the table, wrapping an arm around Grace as the movie started.

\---

It was nearly midnight by the time Stitch saved Lilo from Captain Gantu and Grace was already sound asleep, pressed up against Steve’s side and tucked under his arm. Steve wasn’t far behind her, fighting and failing to keep his eyes open as he waited for Danny. He was just about to pick Grace up and carry her off to her room when there was a noise at the door and he turned to see Danny walking in.

“Hey,” Danny whispered, closing the door behind him as quietly as he could and setting the alarm.

“Hey, everything go well?” Steve asked, hoping that all the tailing and surveillance was finally coming to an end.

“Yeah, great actually,” Danny told him, slipping out of his shoes and shuffling to Steve’s other side, giving him a kiss as he sat down, “We got Glen dead to rights, video of him making the drug deal with the Triad. He’s being processed right now and the DA wants to move forward as soon as possible.”

“That’s great,” Steve said, slipping his other arm around Danny. He sank into the touch and Steve could feel the tension seeping out of his body, leaving him relaxed and happy for the first time in days.

“Lilo and Stitch?” Danny asked through a yawn and Steve hummed an affirmative.

“Grace’s request.”

Danny turned to look at him, then shifted his gaze down to see Grace sleeping soundly under his arm, “What did I do to deserve you, huh?” Danny asked, reverently, reaching a hand up to cup Steve’s cheek and pulling him down for a chaste kiss. When they broke apart he settled his head back onto Steve’s shoulder. Steve stared down at the top of Dann's head, left speechless as usual when Danny said something so heartfelt, and Steve felt the familiar rush of happiness wash over him.

As the movie credits started to roll Steve could feel Danny’s breathing slow, the hand that he had resting on Steve's thigh now lax in sleep. Steve gave him a gentle shake to wake him, “We should head up to bed,” he whispered in Danny’s ear but didn’t make a move to get up.

“In a bit,” Danny said, putting his feet up on the table next to Steve’s and getting comfortable, asleep again between one breath and the next.

“Sure, Danno,” Steve said, shutting off the tv, pulling the blanket off the back of the couch over the three of them and finally falling asleep.


	23. Trying To Hide Their Relationship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The thing was, Danny was getting good at covering for this thing that he and Steve had. The one where they- not so- occasionally shoved each other into a store room, or a bathroom or any empty room really, and went at each other like a hungry man when at a steak.

“We can’t do this,” Danny informed Steve as he pulled him down to a more reasonable height and laid a demanding kiss on him, “It’s unprofessional.”

“Whatever you say, Danno,” Steve relented but instead of moving away from Danny, and preserving some of that professional dignity, he pressed himself closer, trapping Danny between his body and the file room wall.

“We need to get back to work,” he mumbled against Steve’s mouth before moving in for another kiss.

“I don’t see you moving away,” was Steve witty retort, moving his attention to mouth down Danny’s jaw and then his neck. Danny let out a huff which he hoped conveyed well-how-can-I-when-your-mouth-does- _that_  and acquiesced, tilting his head to give Steve better access.

Steve was just toying with the top button of Danny’s shirt when he heard the room door click open and Danny shoved Steve with enough force to send him stumbling backward into the table where they had been researching a cold case just a few minutes before. Between one beat and the next Danny fell back into his seat and pulled some files closer, leaving Steve leaning on the table and looking a little confused as to what had just happened. Danny was just about to hiss at him to at least try and act like they hadn’t just been making out like teenagers when Kono walked around the corner with a full coffee carrier in one hand and a box of malasadas in the other.

She stopped as soon as she saw them, casting a confused glance between the two of them and Danny fought the flush that would blow their shoddy cover to pieces, “You guys make any progress?” she finally asked and Danny mentally let out a breath of relief.

“We found some similarities between our case and this B&E from ‘91. Same motive, same type of victim,” Steve answered before Danny could, sliding a folder across the table to Kono, “It wouldn’t hurt to look into it.”

\---

The thing was, Danny was getting good at covering for this thing that he and Steve had. The one where they- not so- occasionally shoved each other into a store room, or a bathroom, or any empty room really, and went at each other like a hungry man went at a steak. It wasn’t that he particularly liked keeping it from their friends, but he wanted to make sure that the sorta-relationship would last past the first few weeks of initial lust. Which meant that, for the time being, it was his and Steve’s secret.

Not that Steve made it an easy secret to keep.

They had both agreed to give it some time before they started telling people, but that didn’t stop him from attacking Danny at every opportunity and Danny was starting to run out of excuses as to why he and Steve always seemed to be in the dark storage room together.

\---

“So, any plans this weekend?” Kono asked him one day in the break room, taking advantage of his vulnerable state before he had his second cup of coffee.

“Uh, no,” he lied, “Not really.”

“Really? Nothing?” Kono asked, almost surprised, watching closely as he poured a new mug of coffee.

_Actually, I’m gonna head over to Steve’s place after work and we’re probably not gonna leave his bedroom for the next two days. Again._ Instead, he said, “Yeah, really.”

“Great!” Kono said, way too excited, and gave him that smile that always made him feel like prey caught in a trap, “So you can make it to my party on Saturday then. I’ve got this friend I really want you to meet, I think you’ll hit it off great with her.”

“Oh,” he said, furiously trying to think of a way out of whatever he just accidentally agreed to. The problem was, he just told Kono- twice- that he wasn’t doing anything, “I don’t know. I’m kind of tired, I'll probably just pass out.”

“ _Brah_ , today’s Tuesday. The party isn’t for four days, you still gonna be tired then?” she teased.

“Trying to keep up with SuperSEAL over there?” he started, stirring his coffee and pointing vaguely in the direction of Steve’s office with his elbow, “I’ll be tired until the day I retire.”

“Uh-huh, I’ll see you Saturday,” she told him and left, giving him a wave over he shoulder.

\---

Danny hated Wednesdays. They were too close to Mondays and too far from the weekend and just served to make him miserable. Except for when Steve had his hand down the front of Danny’s pants, then he could maybe see the appeal.

Chin and Kono were out to lunch, leaving Steve and Danny alone at headquarters for an hour, and no sooner had they walked out the front door than Steve had called him into his office to sign a report. His office with all the blinds drawn and the doors locked.

Steve was a great, many things, but subtle was not at the top of that list.

So now here he was, half laying on Steve’s desk as he tried to shove Danny’s pants down off his hips and Danny was doing his level best to remove Steve’s shirt without breaking their kiss. He had almost figured out a way to do it when he heard voices just outside the office.

“Shit, Steve,” he gasped which just encouraged Steve to ramp up his efforts in making Danny thoroughly debauched, “Steve. Chin and- _ah_ , Chin and Kono are back.”

“They’re not due back for another thirty minutes,” Steve said into the crook of Danny’s neck.

“Then why do I hear them outside the door?” he asked, pushing Steve away with no small amount of reluctance and shoving his shirt back into his pants. No sooner had he gotten his belt re-buckled when there was a knock at Steve’s door.

“Just a second,” Steve called, hurriedly pulling his shirt back down and sitting in his chair while Danny took a seat on the couch, “Come in,” he said after taking a moment to run his hands through his hair to try and fix the damage that Danny had been taking great pleasure in doing.

Chin opened the door slowly, leaning against the door jam as he took in the sight of the two men, “You guys alright?” he finally asked, a smile pulling at his lips, “you both look a little… keyed up.”

This time, the heat that Danny felt had nothing to do with arousal. “Did you need something?” Steve asked voice cold and even despite still sounding a little breathless.

“We got a tip on the case,” he finally said and rolled off the door jam to saunter into the war room. After taking a minute to further compose themselves, Steve and Danny followed.

\---

Thursday was uneventful, which Danny should have known would mean that Friday would turn out to be an absolute shitstorm. Of course, any day that starts with a raid on an old warehouse usually turns out to be pretty crappy in Danny’s experience.

“I blame you for this, by the way,” Danny yelled to Steve over the constant ping of gunfire ricocheting off of the metal shipping container they were crouching behind.

“How is this _my_ fault!” Steve yelled back, risking a quick look around the corner of the container.

“It just is!” Danny announced, leaning back as a stray bullet sailed a little too close for his comfort.

Instead of responding Steve turned to look at him with that _I’m-about-to-do-something-recklessly-heroic_ face. “I’m gonna run across, draw their fire. You take them out while they’re distracted,” Steve told him with a tone that said there would be no arguing.

“Like _hell_ you are!” Danny argued.

“Trust me, Danny,” Steve said, quieter now, and pulled him in for a quick kiss. Then, before Danny could completely register what was going on, Steve was gone, running across the open warehouse floor while Danny started shooting. He got two of their perps down before he heard Steve grunt and watched him fall to the floor.

“Steve!” Danny yelled across the expanse and, thankfully, heard Steve shout back an “I’m okay, Danno.” Danny took aim once more, shooting the last guy in the shoulder and leaving him to the quickly advancing Chin and Kono to run to Steve.

“Babe?” Danny whispered, sliding to his knees next to Steve, running his hands across his body and taking in the damage.

“I’m fine Danny,” Steve whispered back, his hand held against the sluggishly bleeding hole in his shoulder. Danny ran his hand through Steve’s hair, rubbing his thumb over his temple like he knew Steve loved, and let out a sigh of relief.

\---

“Hey Babe,” Danny greeted quietly, letting the three of them into Steve’s room after the doctor gave them the okay.

“Hey,” Steve smiled back, a little too happy from the pain meds but still lucid.

“How are you feeling?” Danny asked, moving to the other side of the bed as Chin and Kono and putting his hand down next to Steve, just close enough to feel the warmth.

“Fine,” Steve said, his gaze never leaving Danny.

“That’s good,” Danny murmured, giving Steve a grateful smile and letting the room fall into silence.

“Oh my god, just kiss each other would you!” Kono sighed, breaking the lull, exasperation clear in her tone. The cousins gave Steve and Danny just enough time to sputter a half-hearted “What do you mean?” before Chin said, “Come on guys, we’ve known for weeks. We’ve been trying to get you to tell us on your own.”

“Weeks!” Danny stuttered because he could see days, maybe, but not _weeks_ of them knowing and not saying anything.

“ _Brah_ ,” Chin said with that look he got when he was about to expose some serious truth, “Six weeks ago you both came into work trying to hide hickeys.”

“Not to mention all the longing looks and not-so-subtle smiles,” Kono added her two bits, " _And_ all the time's we've almost walked in on you two."

“Oh,” Danny said and felt Steve’s hand twine with his before he finally got ahold of himself. “Well, in that case,” he said, leaning down and kissing Steve with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been waiting so long to write this chapter! I hope you liked it, I had a lot of fun with it.


	24. Being Obvious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s not like Danny is a lost cause in the dating world, he does well enough for himself when he’s the flirter. He just never expects himself to be the flirtee, so he would practically need to be knocked upside the head with a baseball bat engraved with ‘hey idiot, I like you’ for him to catch on.

Danny has been told, in great detail by his lovely ex-wife, that he’s not so good with noticing the romantic subtleties in life; flirting is lost on him and any hinting is just a waste of time. It’s not like Danny is a lost cause in the dating world, he does well enough for himself when he’s the flirter. He just never expects himself to be the flirtee, so he would practically need to be knocked upside the head with a baseball bat engraved with  _ ‘hey idiot, I like you’ _ for him to catch on.

A car has also been known to work in getting that particular point across.

So, to say it’s a bit of a shock when Steve shoves him against a wall and starts kissing him would be an understatement. Not that it takes him long to get with the program after that, returning Steve’s kiss with a desperate ferocity until his confusion beats out his lust and he pushes Steve just far enough away that he has room to breathe again.

“Wait,” Danny starts, breathless, “Hold on… what?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’?” Steve asks, voice low with desire, as he steps closer and starts pressing kisses along Danny’s jaw.

“What do I-” Danny starts and is cut off by his own gasp as Steve finds the spot behind his ear that drives him insane, “What is  _ this _ !” Danny practically yells, shoving the words out of his mouth, because god damn Steve’s mouth is talented.

“This,” Steve murmurs as he starts to press kisses down Danny’s neck, “is me kissing you.”

“Why?” Danny asks and he really should learn to pick his battles, because Steve is moving away from him now and Danny’s pretty sure he’s already fucked this thing up.

“Why!” Steve says like he can’t quite believe what he’s hearing, “Because I’ve only been flirting with you for the last six months. I figured it was about time I make a move,” Steve explains and the silence stretches on between them. They’re both a little flushed, a little aroused and Danny is more than a little confused.

“Flirting?” is Danny’s first question because that’s all that seems to come to mind at the moment.

“Yeah, pretty much since day one,” Steve tells him with a fond look that has undertones of his  _ you-are-such-an-idiot _ face and Danny furiously tries to recall when exactly Steve had flirted with him, “The hotel tickets?” Steve says as if perceiving Danny’s confusion.

“You were apologizing for getting me shot.”

“No. I was trying to get on your good side. Get you to like me,” Steve explains and it’s like someone just took a swing at Danny with that engraved baseball bat.

“The ride in the Marquis?” Steve supplies once again and now Danny can remember it so clearly. How Steve had approached him almost nervously and asked him to go on the car’s inaugural drive. How Steve had had his arm stretched out on the seat back behind Danny until the trouble started. How Danny had secretly loved every minute but complained as soon as something went wrong and almost ruined the whole day.

“You were trying to brag because I always made fun of it!” Danny defended himself because at the time he thought that that was all it had been.

“Inviting you to the football game,” Steve shakes his head and offers but no, Danny knows that the game was not supposed to be a date.

“That was a team thing!” he reminds Steve, he distinctly remembers both Chin and Kono being there. “Only because  _ you _ mentioned it to the rest of the team!” Steve retaliates and yeah, he kinda, accidentally, had been the one to invite the others but only because he thought that Steve was going to anyway.

“So then, the petroglyphs,” Danny asks, and he’s starting to feel like he should buy flowers or something for Rachel by way of an apology for being so oblivious. If he’s this bad with only six months knowing Steve he can only imagine what Rachel must have gone through over ten years.

“Yes!” Steve exclaims, throwing his hands in the air and showing just how much influence Danny has already had on him.

“Oh,” is all Danny can think to say. His world is kinda tilting on his axis here because Steve has been flirting with him for months. Steve McGarrett, his best friend, all-American boy who always looks like he just walked off of a photo shoot, has been flirting with him, Danny Williams, for  _ months _ .

“Why didn’t you say something?” Danny finally asks as the pieces slowly start to click together in his mind.

“I kinda thought my intentions were obvious, Danno. Hell, I was half naked in front of you the second day we knew each other.” Yeah, Danny is well aware of Steve’s fondness for partial nudity and the resulting long showers Danny needs when he gets home have cost him a lot by way of his water bill.

“So, you like me,” Danny says more to himself then to Steve because this whole thing feels a little like it was taken straight from the Twilight Zone. “You like me,” he says again, this time with a smile as the revelation finally sinks in.

Steve doesn’t answer him. Instead, he grabs Danny, pressing him flush against his body and kissing him until he can hardly breathe, pressing his growing erection against Danny’s own, “Do you understand now?” Steve asks him like he thinks Danny understanding this is all a lost cause.

“I think I’m starting to catch on,” Danny tells him and pulls Steve down for another kiss.


	25. Naked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is freezing, doing his very best to control his shivering and failing spectacularly. He should be in bed, could be if not for the fact that his apartment building’s fire alarm went off ten minutes ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting. I tried to get this chapter up last night but by the time I got back home I was so tired I kept falling asleep as I was writing.
> 
> This chapter is also inspired by the prompt: "You’re my neighbor in an apartment building and all of a sudden the fire alarm goes off and next thing you know we’re stuck outside in three inches of snow. You were smart enough to grab a blanket. Can we share please I’m freezing."

Steve is freezing, doing his very best to control his shivering and failing spectacularly. He should be in bed, could be if not for the fact that his apartment building’s fire alarm went off ten minutes ago. Which means that Steve has now been standing in three inches of freshly fallen snow in nothing but a thin hoodie, pajama pants and sandals for the last ten minutes. Even after living in New Jersey for three months, he still isn’t used to how cold it can get during the night and the usual chill is only made worse by the impending nor'easter headed straight for them.

The firemen who have responded seem to be settling in for the long haul and Steve groans, wondering if there’s a restaurant or something nearby that’s still open at two in the morning where he could go to warm up. He casts a quick glance around the small crowd, seeing that everyone else from the building is bundled in either blankets or winter jackets and looking a whole lot warmer than Steve feels.

His gaze finally rests on his neighbor, Danny, who is looking, not quite happy, but comfortable wrapped up tight in a large blue comforter. He smiles at Danny’s sleep-mussed hair, knowing that the image is going to do nothing to dissuade Steve’s embarrassingly large crush on the man. Steve knows that they’ve been dancing around something since they met. Danny always gives Steve these looks that never last long enough for Steve to figure out what they mean and Steve has been finding excuse after excuse to run into Danny. It’s like some elaborate dance, but Steve’s always had two left feet.

Almost as if Danny can sense Steve’s staring, he turns, searching, and smiles when they make eye contact. Danny looks bleary-eyed, like he could fall asleep where he stands, and Steve wants to know if this is how Danny always looks when he’s just woken up or if it’s just because it’s the middle of the night. Steve smiles back and gives him a small wave before turning to watch the building where two firemen have just walked in to start clearing the building. Steve resigns himself to standing in the cold until the building is deemed safe and hopes that that happens before his toes fall off. At least the fire alarm’s finally been turned off.

Steve manages about another thirty seconds before his toes go numb and he decides that he has to do something or risk serious damage. His gaze flicks back over to Danny and his giant blanket and he starts to form a plan. Taking advantage of the opportunity being presented to him, he walks towards Danny until they’re just inches away from each other. Maybe _now_ he’ll finally get the fucking hints that Steve has been tossing out like candy at a parade.

“Yeah, Steve?” Danny asks, his voice still rough with sleep.

"Hey Danny,” Steve starts and takes a second to reign in his nerves, it’s been a long time since he’s tried to go for something more than a casual hookup, “Do you think you could, uh, share your blanket maybe?" he asks, wrapping his arms tighter around his chest and amping up his shaking a little so that Danny will have to say yes.

"Sorry, no can do," Danny says after a pause, the tone of his voice clearly final but his eyes wide with something that looks like a mix between panic and temptation.

"I'm freezing out here!" Steve exclaims as if that wasn't already obvious, hoping that if he pursues this a little more Danny will sway more towards the temptation side and away from panic.

"You should have thought about that before you ran out of the building in nothing but thin pajama pants," Danny retorts, turning back to the building, and Steve feels annoyance flare over him. Forget the flirting, dammit, he’s cold and Danny has plenty of blanket to share even platonically. Steve isn’t going to give up that easily.

"Come on, just let me share the blanket!" Steve insists, tugging at the edge of the comforter Danny has wrapped around him.

"It's too small for two," Danny says and pulls the fabric even tighter around his shoulders.

"It's a king size blanket, I think we can both fit," Steve argues with him, taking a step closer to get a better grip.

"I said no!" Danny reiterates as he takes a step back.

"I'm freezing out here man, just let. me. share." Steve says through gritted teeth, finally prying the blanket out of one of Danny's hands and quickly stepping forward and wrapping the both of them into the warmth.

"Hey, _asshole_ , could you not hear what I was saying through that thick head of yours!" Danny yells even though Steve can see a blush creeping up his neck.

"Relax. You can stand to share for another fifteen minutes," Steve tells him and adjusts his stance so that he’s standing closer to Danny, thus closing the little gap in the blanket near his legs. He lets his hand fall so that it resting by Danny's side and Steve instantly feels better, surrounded by the heat that Danny is radiating.

Danny falls uncharacteristically silent and Steve feels him shift nervously against him, the brush of bare skin raising goosebumps along Steve’s skin. Steve notes that Danny is studiously avoiding eye contact, choosing instead to stare at Steve’s chest.

“I’m just not used to the cold,” Steve explains by way of an apology, shrugging his shoulders and causing his arm to drag along Danny’s bare skin. A _lot_ of Danny’s bare skin, "Hey Danny," Steve starts again cautiously, not quite willing to let his mind imagine what the lack of clothing brushing against him means.

" _Don't_ ," Danny warns through bared teeth, still staring daggers at Steve’s chest.

"By any chance are you-"

"Shut. Up. For the love of god, Steven. Did you ever think that there was a reason that I might not want you to share my blanket," Danny whispers furiously, his voice quiet so as not to draw any more attention to the two of them.

"Like the fact that you sleep naked?" Steve asked with a cheeky grin and now there was no doubt that Danny was blushing.

"Yes, like the fact that I sleep naked," Danny acquiesced and Steve felt a rush of desire wash over him because Danny is pressed up against him, naked, “I never figured you for one to sleep nude,” Steve continues and he knows that he's skirting a dangerous line. This was going to be the moment of truth, he could feel it. Either Danny would take the bait or Steve would get a swift punch to the jaw.

After a while, Danny looks up and asks, “And how _did_ you picture me?”

“Oh, I would much rather show you how I pictured you in bed,” Steve whispers low in Danny’s ear and smiles when he hears Danny’s breath hitch. Steve takes a small step closer to Danny, pressing them flush against each other and feeling the press of Danny’s erection against his leg.

“You think about that a lot, do you?” Danny asks him and Steve is entranced by the way that Danny licks his lips after he finishes.

“Only every time I see you,” Steve tells him honestly.

“Well, this does explain why you always seem to be doing laundry at the exact same time as me,” Danny says with a smile and Steve falters because, yeah, his laundry’s never been so clean in his life keeping up with Danny’s schedule.

“You caught on to that, huh?”

“Yeah,” he says, then after a second, “Yet you never seemed to notice I suddenly had to get my mail every time you came back from your run.”

Steve knows that they must be a sight, bundled together in the cold. Danny’s still blushing a little, but now he has on this devilish smile and Steve’s eyes have gone wide with shock, “You did that?” he finally manages to say. He knows that he had been mooning over Danny for months, finding any excuse to talk to him, but he never expected that Danny had been doing the same.

Before either of them could say anything more, one of the firemen walks up to the crowd and announces that the building was clear and they all could go back inside, “False alarm,” he declares, giving the crowd a wave and heading back to the fire engine.

“So I guess I should-”

“Yeah,” Danny interrupts Steve but neither man makes a move as everyone else starts to head inside, “Or,” Danny continues hesitantly.

“Or?” Steve presses, daring to be hopeful that this was going where he wanted.

“You’re still freezing,” Danny says, his free hand wrapping around Steve’s arm, which did still have goosebumps, as if to prove his statement, “I have lots of experience with New Jersey winters, I could help you warm back up quick.”

It’s got to be one of the worse come-ons that Steve has heard, but Danny is looking up at him with so much desire that Steve’s a little blown back by the intensity of it, “Yeah,” he chokes out, eager for what’s coming next, “I think I could stand to use a little help.”

Danny just smiles, grabs his hand, and quickly leads Steve back inside with a, "Well, what are we waiting for?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: 2 am fire alarms are the actual worst


	26. At Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The funny thing is that absolutely nothing changes

The funny thing is that absolutely nothing changes, and Danny doesn’t know what exactly he expected when he walked into Five-O that morning, but it certainly wasn’t a resounding nothing. Which is ridiculous because there’s no way that anyone else could know, so how could they react any different, but it seems so obvious to Danny. He can still feel the roughness of Steve's hands as they traced over his body, feel the soft brush of his lips and the ghost of breath over his skin. The entire story is written in the traces that Steve left behind on him and he feels like there’s a neon sign blinking above his head proclaiming _‘Hey everybody, I fucked Steve McGarrett last night’_ but no one is acknowledging it.

He knows that Steve feels the same, he can see it in the way that Steve jumps a little when either Chin or Kono starts to ask him a question. Danny can see the tightness in Steve’s shoulders from all the way across the office, like Steve’s readying himself to go into battle which, hey, they still might end up doing before the day is over. The result is that Steve’s strung tighter than a bow, ready to snap at any little thing. Yet whenever he looks over at Danny his expression goes soft and Danny can feel himself smiling before he even realises that he’s doing it.

If either Chin or Kono notices the change in their behavior, neither of them mentions anything. In fact, the team mostly keeps to themselves, filling out paperwork until Steve gets a call just before noon that they have a case.

“There’s a hostage situation at the First National Bank,” Steve tells the team, charging out of his office, “The governor wants us there.”

\---

“We have three suspects inside, eight hostages that we know of. We can’t get a clear view inside so numbers may be higher,” the SWAT captain notifies Steve as soon as they pull up to the scene.

“Any demands?” Steve asks the captain, strapping on his tac vest and focusing on the bank, like if he stares at it long enough maybe he’ll be able to see through the concrete walls. As far as Danny knows, it’s not outside the range of possibilities.

“They want an armoured car and an escape route. We told them that we couldn’t get a car for an hour, they gave us thirty minutes before they would start shooting hostages,” the captain relays, leading the team over to the makeshift command center where schematics of the building have been laid out on a table, “we’ve got twenty minutes left.”

“I take it you want us to move in before that?” Chin asks, scanning over the building layout alongside Steve.

“That is the plan.”

“Okay,” Steve says and Danny resigns himself to the fact that he’s going to get shot at very soon, “Captain, have your men enter from the front and side entrances, draw their fire towards you. We’ll circle around to the back and enter through the fire exit out back, get the hostages out that way and have the suspects surrounded.”

It’s a solid plan, Danny knows that it’s a good plan, but he still can’t help but worry. There are so many variables at play in a situation like this, something could change at the drop of a hat and they’re already relying on incomplete information. Danny wants to say something, but he knows that there’s nothing to say. Nothing that would actually change the plan anyway, so he follows Steve around the corner, crouching behind the door and waiting for the signal. Danny risks glancing over at Steve and sees’s his own apprehension mirrored in Steve’s face, if with a little more determination sprinkled in. Steve has just enough time to give him a reassuring smile before they get the signal to move in.

Everything after that happens quickly and Danny has to rely more on instinct than actual conscious decisions as they move towards the lobby. Kono shoots one suspect in the hallway just off of the one that they enter and the team slowly moves forward. There’s more gunfire coming from the bank lobby in front of them, accompanied by frightened screaming from the hostages. It only takes a few second for the team to make their way to the front of the bank, clearing rooms along the way, but it feels like forever as the adrenaline rushes through Danny’s body.

They take the robbers by surprise and Chin starts to gather the few hostages towards the back hallway as the robbers slowly lay their guns down, realizing that they’re surrounded. Danny holsters his gun as SWAT starts to round up the robbers, the adrenaline still rushing through his veins.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Steve says with a smile and Danny want to slap him because _doesn’t he know not to jinx things like this?_ As if on some cliche cue, one of the robbers bucks off the SWAT guy who’s handcuffing him, grabs his gun off of the floor and starts firing wildly.

Danny acts before he thinks, pushing Steve to the ground just as he feels a slug hit him square in the chest. He falls to the ground and struggles to catch his breath, every little movement radiating pain throughout his body.

He hears Steve yell his name just before he floods Danny's vision, kneeling over Danny and taking in the damage. “How bad is it?” Danny manages to choke out and Steve forces out a panicked laugh, saying, “You’re gonna be fine, the vest caught it,” and then he’s kissing Danny. In front of Chin, Kono, SWAT, and the robbers too. Hell, the news cameras outside are probably getting a good shot of this too, because that’s just Danny’s luck, but Danny couldn’t care less if it was the governor standing in front of them because he can feel the desperation in Steve’s kiss and returns it with ferocity.

“Why did you do that?” Steve manages to ask when they break apart, still cradling Danny’s head and looking like he’s on the verge of a breakdown.

“Well, I can’t let you have the fun all the time,” Danny jokes because that’s his way to cope. It gets him a harsh laugh from Steve though so he considers it a positive. It’s only when they’re both back up on their feet that it sinks in that they just kissed in front of half of HPD.

“So,” Kono says, casting glances between the both of them as they stand there awkwardly in the middle of the wrecked bank.

“Danny and I are together,” Steve admits to them, squaring his shoulders and giving Chin and Kono- and anyone else who decides to question Steve, Danny, or their relationship- a glare that is just daring them to step out of line.

“Well, yeah,” Chin says slowly, like it’s Steve and Danny who are the last one’s in on the secret.

“We’ve known for months guys, we just never thought that you would do anything about it at work,” Kono finishes Chin’s sentence for him and Danny feels like a weight’s been lifted off of his shoulders before her words sink it.

“Wait, what do you mean months!” he yells after the cousins as they leave to go question hostages, effectively ignoring Danny and Steve as Steve pulls Danny in for another hug, this one a little less panicked than the last.


	27. At Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Danno,” Steve’s voice filtered down the hallway, his mocking tone making the hairs on Danny’s arm stand on end. Instead of answering, Danny ducked into the kitchen and hid behind the island, “I’m gonna find you Danno. You only have, what? Four bullets left?”
> 
> Danny double checked his gun, he only had three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter inspired by [this image](http://static4.techinsider.io/image/55c0d1bc2acae716008bcde4-1600-1200/pggrg.jpg)

Danny hid behind the door, trying to hide his heavy breathing as best he could to maintain his cover. He had his gun raised, ready to fire should his attacker come through the door after him, but his chamber was only half full. If he could find more bullets he might have a chance of surviving this but the chance of that happening was slim to none.

A heavy foot fell on the stair above his head and Danny clamped a hand over his mouth to muffle his startled gasp as the footsteps continued upstairs. _Upstairs_ , that meant that Steve had taken the bait. Danny counted steps, making sure that Steve went all the way to the top landing before Danny made a move. Slowly, Danny pushed the door to the crawl space open, sending up a silent prayer that the new hinges they had put on after the house got shot up last time didn’t squeak as the door swung.

Danny sat there for a second, seeing no sign of his attacker anywhere downstairs. He jumped when he heard Steve’s footsteps again, lighter this time as they headed further down the hallway, and Danny took the opportunity to find a new hiding spot. He just had to find where the last clip of bullets was stashed, then he could make his move.

He stepped quietly out into the living room, bare feet silent on the hardwood floor. His heart was racing, blood pumping through his veins as he used every skill he knew to dodge Steve’s relentless pursuit. He had already ambushed Steve once, using his confusion over Danny’s declaration of war to get the upper hand. Steve finally got with the program as Danny had fled the living room, landing two hits to Danny. A few minutes later, Danny had charged Steve and got one more hit, tying the score up. Steve may have had the government funded training, but Danny grew up with three siblings, with the next shot the kill shot, he would use every trick in the book to win.

“Danno,” Steve’s voice filtered down the hallway, his mocking tone making the hairs on Danny’s arm stand on end. Instead of answering, Danny ducked into the kitchen and hid behind the island, “I’m gonna find you Danno. You only have, what? Four bullets left?”

Danny double checked his gun, he only had three.

Danny heard the pop of the gun firing before he heard a bullet sail by his head, missing him by a hair to stick itself firmly in the cupboard opposite him. Danny swore and rolled out of the way, ducking behind the wall into the study. Staying low, he peered around the corner but Steve was already gone. _How had he made it downstairs without Danny hearing him?_

“You’re losing your touch, SuperSEAL,” Danny taunted, not bothering with stealth now that Steve knew where he was.

Keeping his back to the wall, Danny slowly stood. Gun raised, he took a quick peek around the corner to make sure that Steve wasn’t in the kitchen before slowly making his way to the living room. Steve had to be just on the other side of the wall, if Danny could keep quiet and sneak up on him, maybe he could get a good shot and this game would finally be over. He took a deep, steadying breath before rounding the corner, gun ready to shoot and… nothing.

Steve was gone.

Danny barely his time to panic before he heard the pop of the gun and felt the foam dart hit him square between the shoulder blades. “Got you Danno,” he heard Steve purr before he pressed himself along Danny’s back, hands trailing up and down Danny’s sides, “great idea Babe,” Steve told him and Danny could feel his smile as he pressed kisses along Danny’s neck.

“I don’t think the house appreciated it so much,” Danny groused even as he pressed further into Steve; taking in the knocked over coffee table, the askew pictures and the lamp that had fallen over but, thankfully, not broken.

“Worth it,” Steve hummed, pressing a kiss just behind Danny’s ear. Danny sucked in a sharp breath and dropped his Nerf gun to clatter on the floor next to their feet, “Don’t you agree?”

“I think I could be persuaded,” Danny murmured and, spotting one last dart stuck to the picture frame in front of him, took advantage of Steve’s distracted state. Before Steve could register what was happening, Danny spun out of his arms, grabbed the dart off of the picture frame and stuck it smack-dab in the middle of Steve’s forehead where it stuck for a second before tumbling down to land next to Danny's discarded gun.

“Boom. Headshot,” Danny laughed and the shocked look on Steve’s face would be enough to keep him happy for _years_. Then Steve got a primal look that made Dany's stomach do flips and, still laughing, Danny bolted up the stairs to the bedroom, Nerf gun war forgotten and Steve hot on his trails the whole way.


	28. At Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Danno,” Steve called upstairs, squinting at Danny’s chicken scratch writing on the top of the box he was holding, “Where does this box go?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter today, but I'm really excited about tomorrow's prompt so that's probably gonna turn out a lot longer than I originally planned.

“Danno,” Steve called upstairs, squinting at Danny’s chicken scratch writing on the top of the box he was holding, “Where does this box go?”

“They’re all labeled!” Danny called from what sounded like the bedroom and Steve rolled his eyes. He knew that all of the boxes were labeled, his problem was that he couldn’t actually _read the label_.

“Not what I asked, Danny!” Steve yelled back up and turned the box around, thinking that maybe he was just reading it upside down. It didn’t help.

Danny’s feet pounded on the staircase as he made his way back to the living room, interrupting Steve’s ruminating. Danny walked up behind where he was kneeling on the floor and leaned over his shoulder to inspect the box, “That says Grace’s room,” Danny informed him, pointing at the lettering as if that would clear things up.

“Grace- In what world does that scribble say Grace’s room!” Steve yelled after Danny as he picked up the final box and took it into the kitchen. The question was only met with a loud clattering of pots and pans.

With a sigh, Steve got back up to his feet and carried the box upstairs to Grace’s room; Mary’s old room since it had two windows instead of the one that Steve’s childhood room had had. He set the box down on the floor next to the stack of matching ones that they had already brought up and left for Grace to unpack when she came over the next day.

“Steve, I could use your help unpacking,” Danny called and Steve smiled as the reality sank in. Danny was moving in with him; it seemed almost too good to be true. Sometimes Steve still couldn’t believe that Danny had said yes but the evidence was scattered all around him. Grace’s things were all in front of him, ready to be unpacked; most of Danny’s clothes had already been in his closet for weeks, and now everything from Danny’s hair gel to his family photo albums had made their way into Steve’s house. Sure, they now had two living room sets, two beds, and enough dinnerware for an army but that was all secondary because _Danny was living with him_.

No more leaving to go get clean clothes, or to pick up one of Grace’s forgotten toys, or because if Danny didn’t show up at his house at least once a week the neighbors would think that he was missing or something. Steve couldn’t help the giddy smile that he got when the thought crossed his mind that he would wake up next to Danny every day from now on.

“Hey, SuperSEAL, I hope you’re not trying to shirk your unpacking duties,” Danny’s voice broke through Steve’s thoughts as he came back upstairs to find Steve leaning against the bedroom door, staring at the couple of boxes holding Danny’s few remaining clothes, “You alright up here Babe?” He asked in a gentler tone and Steve leaned back into Danny’s chest as he wrapped his arms around Steve’s waist.

“Yeah, I just can’t believe it,” Steve admitted. A year ago he never would have dared to entertain the idea that he and Danny were together, let alone that Danny would be moving into Steve’s house.

“You better believe it, Babe. I’m home and I plan on staying for a long time,” Danny said into Steve’s back and Steve’s smile grew.

“Yeah?” he asked, turning around to face Danny.

“Yeah,” Danny said, pulling Steve down and kissing him, “Now what do you say we christen _our_ bedroom?”

“I think that’s the best idea you’ve had all day,” Steve declared and pulled Danny into their room.


	29. Saving the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Then the rumors started to spread, apparently Oahu had a super hero running around town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I'm not really happy with how this chapter turned out. I planned to devote most of my afternoon to writing it, then we had unplanned company for dinner and I couldn't use my laptop for a while and my writing time was cut in half. Which is really a bummer because I've been thinking about this chapter all day and had some really good ideas that I wanted to incorporate if I had the time. Maybe I'll expand this chapter in the future into something I'm happy with but until then, it's really late, I have to work early tomorrow, and this is good enough.

Danny’s day was starting out pretty shitty. Not only was he on rocky terms with Rachel- again- but she and Stan bought Grace a rabbit. A real, living, breathing, pooping rabbit making Danny’s pink stuffed rabbit pale in comparison. He’s having trouble getting a tap on Fred Doran, his one lead in his murder case, which is a stretch to begin with, and as if that wasn’t enough shit to pile on top of the garbage dump that he calls his life, now he was staring down the barrel of a gun in his murder vics garage.

Danny wasn’t proud of how he handled the situation, telling the bereaved son that Danny would put him in an ambulance if he didn’t cooperate, but Danny wasn’t in the best of moods and the guy was being an asshole. In the end he left the box and Danny promised to call with updates so at least one thing was going right. He would apologize to McGarrett later for how he acted. Maybe.

The next day, things started to get weird. Doran vanished into thin air during the night because apparently that was something that arms dealers did in Hawaii. Neighbors were citing a masked man dressed all in black for ridding them of their resident arms dealer but the officers weren’t giving the statement too much credit. Which was great for the people of Oahu, but was bad for Danny. No bad guy meant no wire tap and Danny was knocked almost back to square one in his investigation. Then the next day an entire shipping container full of illegally smuggled immigrants was discovered at the docks. Smugglers tied up and gagged and statements pointing to a shadow man as the rescuer, at least that’s what the translator could get with his limited understanding of cantonese.

Then the rumors started to spread, apparently Oahu had a super hero running around town.

\---

“Detective,” Steve McGarrett greeted from his hotel door, sounding almost surprised that Danny was there, “What can I do for you?”

“Can I come in?” Danny asked, not really wanting to question the man in the hotel hallway.

“Of course,” McGarrett said opening his door all the way to allow Danny in. He was only wearing sweatpants and Danny could see some light bruising spreading across his chest, looking fairly recent.

“How’d you get those?” Danny asked conversationally, pointing at the bruising and doing his best to start this off on a pleasant note.

McGarrett seem almost startled for a quick second before masking his reaction, “I just came from a warzone, Detective. Did you have any actual questions or did you just want to question me about my body,” Steve said, voice low and harsh, “I’ve got some scars on my back that you may have some questions about.”

“That’s not why I’m here,” Danny said.  _ Still an asshole,  _ he thought before remembering that McGarrett had just listened to his father die and that he was supposed to be pleasant to him.“Your father’s toolbox is gone.”

“You lost my father’s toolbox?” Steve accused him and Danny searched the other man’s face for any signal that he was hiding something. Apparently McGarrett was either innocent or he was a very good liar, Danny was leaning towards the latter but he wasn’t getting anything from him.

“That’s not what I said,” Danny defended himself, moving further into the hotel room and trying to see any sign of the missing box, “The box was taken from the crime scene. Now what i’m trying to figure out, is why so many people are interested in something that, by all accounts, appears to be just a regular ol’ toolbox.” When McGarrett failed to take the bait, Danny continued, “Why did you want it? What’s so important about that box?”

“Nothing,” Steve said, sitting down on the couch opposite Danny and acting way more causal than the situation allowed for, “I told you, it was my toolbox. I was just trying to take back my property.”

“Right. Let me get this straight. Your father is murdered, you come back to the island for the first time in, what, a decade? You go straight to your father’s house, break into a crime scene and take not some family memento, nothing worth any value, no you head straight for the garage and try and take a toolbox that I could go to Lowe’s and pick up for thirty bucks. What’s so important about the box and where is it?”

“It’s just a toolbox, Detective. Full of tools. Nothing more,” McGarrett explained like Danny had never heard of the concept before.

“I will find that box,” Danny declared, staring McGarrett straight in the eye.

“Let me know when you do, but I’m afraid that I have to ask you to leave. I have a meeting to get ready for,” McGarrett dismissed him, but he had this look in his eye like he was pleased with something that Danny had said.

\---

Danny was in the middle of his first good night’s sleep since he caught the McGarrett case when he woke suddenly. He was confused at first, wondering what had woken him, then he heard the creaking of his kitchen stool. Someone else was in his apartment. Danny shot up, grabbing his gun off of his end table and pointing it at his intruder, any residual sleepiness gone in his panic.

“Hands up where I can see them,” Danny told the man, trying to see in the darkness and grateful that he had kept his boxers on.

“You bring your daughter here?” the mystery man asked and Danny’s hindbrain was nagging at him telling him that the voice was familiar.

“Put. your. hands. up,” Danny demanded again but if anything the figure just seemed to settle back more.

“There’s a man named Victor Hesse,” the figure said, completely ignoring Danny’s demand and the gun, “You’ve heard of him.”

It wasn’t a question but Danny answered anyway, “He’s the suspect in my murder case.”

“He’s in the South Loch right now waiting on a boat that’s set to leave port for China in six hours,” the figure informed him, shifting enough in the moonlight filtering in through the window for Danny to see that he was dressed entirely in black: long sleeve shirt, cargo pants and combat boots with a black strip of fabric covering most of his face.

“How do you know this?” Danny asked, his curiosity getting the better of him when he should be arresting the guy for breaking and entering.

“I have my sources,” the guy said and Danny rolled his eyes.

“You mean Doran?” Danny accused, “you are the guy who kidnapped him, right?”

“I spoke to him. He lead me to the man who was importing those people at the docks.”

“Sang Min? We were told he went underground.”

“Not quite,” the man said and Danny’s finger was itching to pull the trigger again.

“What does all this have to do with me?”

“You’re the only cop I know I can trust,” the man told him and the statement bowled Danny over, “Now are you going to help me take down an international arms dealer and murderer or are you going to keep wasting time?”

\---

“This is a stupid idea,” Danny whispered, furious, at the masked man. It was six in the morning and he was crouching behind a shipping container with a masked vigilante. In the list of things that Danny thought his life would include, playing Robin to this guys Batman wasn’t even in the same galaxy, “We need to wait for HPD backup.”

“You are the backup,” the man informed Danny and gave him a brilliant smile, just about the only thing visible underneath his mask. Then he was gone, disappearing in the pre-dawn greyness and Danny had no choice but to follow him lest the idiot get himself shot or something.

Twenty minutes later, Danny had one dead arms dealer, four Chinese citizens under detainment and a seriously pissed of HPD captain yelling at him about procedure.

\---

The next day the Star Advertiser ran their first story on the masked man, praising him as a hero. Sang Min was delivered to the precinct’s front steps, hogtied with a bow and a note that said  _ special delivery for Detective Williams _ , and Danny was on very thin ice with his captain.

\---

The next Danny heard of the man in black, the Star Advertiser was reporting that he saved some computer expert who had been kidnapped. Then, just a few days later, the high school football game was shot up and Danny and Mekka were called in to help investigate.

“There’s an illegal casino,” a voice said from behind Danny and he jumped, hand grabbing for the service weapon that he just took off.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Danny asked, turning to see the masked man lounging on his couch, “How do you keep getting in?”

“It’s really not that hard, you really should move if you’re gonna keep bringing your kid here,” the man said, standing up and advancing on Danny.

“What is it with you and my apartment? Wait- nevermind, you said something about a casino?” Danny asked and continued taking off his shoes.

“There’s a rolling casino, word is that there’s going to be some big players there related to your case. I know someone who can get you and your partner in.”

“Okay, Batman, how exactly do you know about this casino?”

“A friend,” the man said and Danny could see the corner of his mouth ticking up.

“You know, the captain has a BOLO out on you. Why shouldn’t I just arrest you and end all this crap?”

“Because i’m doing good,” the man said, completely sure of himself, “and because you like me,”  he continued, which made Danny laugh.

“Trust me Babe, I do not like you.”

“Yes you do, otherwise you would have arrested me the first night we met,” the man said. It may have been true, but Danny didn’t have to let him know that.

\---

Danny walked back into his apartment, exhausted but relieved that they had made some serious blows to two major crime organizations on the island. All he wanted to do was fall into bed and not wake up until monday morning but apparently the universe had other plans for him because as soon as Danny opened the door he saw the man in the mask sitting on his couch.

“I figured that you’d be off chasing the Red Skull or something,” Danny said, still in the open doorway and staring at the man.

“Nah, I think he’s already been taken care of,” the man said and held out a bottle, “beer?”

Against his better judgement, Danny shut the door, grabbed the beer out of the mans hand and said his thanks. “You know, I don’t even know what to call you,” he admitted, popping the top and taking a swig. He didn’t expect the man to answer but when Danny was almost half done with his beer he heard the man mumble, “Steve.”

“What was that?” Danny asked, resting his head on the back of the couch.

“My name’s Steve,” the man repeated and Danny couldn’t help but smile with the priveledge he had just been given.

“Hey, Steve,” Danny said, leaning into his shoulder to show his thanks and felt Steve relax against him.

\---

Mekka was dead. Danny was drunk and Mekka was dead and once again Danny’s life had gone to shit. He hadn’t seen Steve in weeks, though he heard mention of him all the time in the Star Advertiser. Danny had become obsessed with checking the paper every day, making sure that Steve was being safe, which he never was, and that no one had figured out his identity yet.

But now what did it matter? His partner, his real partner, not that one that he sometimes ran around the island with chasing bad guys in the middle of the night, was dead. How had he not known about Mekka’s investigation? Why hadn’t he asked Danny to help? Danny took another pull from his glass of scotch and poured himself another three fingers just as he heard Steve walk in from the kitchen, Danny had long since given up checking his locks.

“Why are you here?” Danny slurred, not willing to look at Steve.

“I heard about your partner,” Steve said, keeping his distance.

“I heard what you did to Kaleo,” Danny spat and took another drink, “You do know that a confession is not admissible in court if it’s been beaten out of the suspect, right?”

“There’s enough evidence to convict him without my help,” Steve said and Danny was sad to admit that he was right. IA had already found the offshore bank accounts, it was just a matter of time before they were no doubt connected to the very people that Kaleo was supposed to be getting off the streets.

“Why?” Danny asked, and he could hear his voice cracking, “Why did you help exonerate Mekka? You didn’t know him.”

“I know you.”

“Yeah? Well, I wish I could say the same,” Danny snapped. It was harsh and in the morning, when he was more sober, he would regret it but right now he was sick of the secrets. Secrets were what had gotten Mekka killed. If he had just told Danny what he was working on than they would have been able to look out for each other. Then none of this would have happened.

“So ask,” Steve said quietly, drawing Danny out of his thoughts.

“Why me?” Danny blurted out. The question had been burning in the back of his mind since Steve first came to him, “Out of all of HPD, why did you choose me?”

“I knew that I could trust you,” Steve told him, moving to sit on the couch next to Danny, “I saw how you handled the McGarrett case,” he continued and something tried to spark in the back of Danny’s addled brain. He was trying to make some connection that the alcohol induced fog wouldn’t let him complete, “When I questioned Sang Min, I found out that there was a mole in the department. I knew that it couldn’t be you.”

“How could you know that it wasn’t me?” Danny asked, turning to face Steve for the first time and for a long time he didn’t answer, “Because you interrogated McGarrett about a toolbox. A dirty cop wouldn’t take that much pride in his job.”

Danny knew that what Steve had just said was important. He knew that it was the answer to something, but he couldn’t concentrate on it, the alcohol stopping him every time he thought he was getting close. So instead he thought back to what Steve had first said, “You trusted me?”

“Yeah,” Steve confirmed. So Danny kissed him.

\---

After the night of Mekka’s funeral Steve stayed away for a while and Danny didn’t know whether to be hurt of relieved. Yes, Danny had kind of a massive crush on the man, which had taken half a bottle of scotch to act on, but Steve was also crazy. He ran around in a mask for crying out loud. So Danny had mixed feelings when Steve showed up in his apartment one night with the missing McGarrett toolbox in his hand.

“Why do you have that?” Danny asked, eyeing the box.

“I needed it for my investigation.”

“You stole it from my crime scene,” Danny said, pointing an accusing finger at Steve. Ever since that night he had kissed Steve, he had been bothered by what Steve had said. Now, as if this was the final piece to the puzzle, Danny thought he was figuring out just who Steve really was.

“Yes. And now I need your help,” Steve said, setting the box on his coffee table and opening it to reveal all sorts of things. Danny picked up a stack of photo’s laying on top but before he could look at them properly Steve started to speak again, “Before we do this, I need to do something.”

Danny looked up from the photo’s to see as Steve reached up, gloved hand taking off his mask to reveal a familiar face. “Steve McGarrett,” Danny breathed as his assumptions were confirmed, taking in the hazel eyes, the disheveled hair and the shy, unsure grin, “Why?”

“The navy never would have sanctioned this. As soon as the case got personal, they took me off of Hesse, gave it to someone else to cover. I couldn’t let it go. I spent years tracking the Hesse brothers, I knew them better than I knew myself, then Victor murdered my father. I needed to see it through.”

“Okay,” Danny said sitting down next to Steve, who gave him a disbelieving stare. Danny had questions, he had thousands of questions, but they could wait until morning because Steve came to his apartment for a reason, “What do you need me for Babe?” Danny asked and Steve switched into business mode, laying out items before he explained.

“As I was investigating Hesse, I found out that he was just the tip of the iceberg. Sang Min confirmed it and I’ve come across more evidence since then that there’s a bigger player in all of this.”

“Who?”

“His name’s Wo Fat,” Steve said, handing him a grainy photo of an asian looking man.

“I’ve never heard of him.”

“That’s just the way he want’s it. He has a finger in everything and his biggest plot is coming to a head soon.”

“And what’s that?”

“I believe he has a nuclear warhead and he’s willing to sell to the highest bidder,” Steve deadpanned and Danny felt his heart stop.

\---

“Steven, look me in the eye and swear to me that the Governor is in on this,” Danny said, crouching next to Steve just behind the wall of the Governor's mansion.

“She is, I know that she’s in on this,” Steve said, staring up at the nearly empty building.

“Okay then, let's do this,” Danny said, checking his clip and snapping it back into his gun.

“Just one thing first,” Steve said, rounding on Danny and pulling him into a kiss which Danny happily returned, “I just wanted to do that when you were sober,” Steve explained and charged towards the building before Danny could say anything more.

\---

When the metaphorical smoke finally cleared, Danny and Steve had sixteen people of suspect character and strong underworld connections arrested, including the governor herself. A whole alphabet’s worth of government agencies were headed to where Jameson said the nuke was being stored in order to disarm and retrieve it and HPD was rounding up more people connected to the ones already being held by Steve and Danny.

It would have been a resounding success if not for the fact that Wo Fat got away.

\---

It was almost four weeks after Steve and Danny saved the world from nuclear fallout when Danny got a call from the Governor's office asking him to come in for a meeting.

“What did they want?” Steve asked as Danny walked back into his apartment. He had long since gotten used to Steve’s sneaking around, no longer surprised when he popped up out of nowhere.

“Denning wants to set up a new task force,” Danny explained, still in shock from the meeting, “He read my report and wants to go after people like Wo Fat. He says he want’s to set a new example after Jameson, show the people that he’s being proactive about everything.”

“Well that’s good,” Steve said but Danny could hear the question in his voice, asking without asking if there was anything more.

“He offered me the job.”

“That’s great!” Steve exclaimed, jumping up off of the couch to stand in front of Danny, “You’re leading your own task force!”

“I’m not leading it,” Danny explained, cutting Steve off, “I’m on it, but I turned down the lead. In fact, I recommended you for the position.”

“Me?” Steve sputtered, taken aback by what Danny was saying.

“Denning wants to meet you next week,” Danny continued with a smile, “So what do you say babe? I know it’s not the navy but we could do some real good with this.”

“I don’t know,” Steve said with a smile, “Do you think Oahu can handle my methods?”

“It’s alright,” Danny told him with his own smile, “You protect Oahu from the bad guys, I’ll protect Oahu from you.”


	30. Saving Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, everybody,” Danny said and waited until he had the entire group's attention before continuing, “So, it’s the end of another year and I just wanted to say something before we all start eating."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe that this is the last chapter! I can't say thank you enough to everyone who has taken the time to read these chapters, leave kudos and comments. They made my day and it was a great way to finish out 2015.
> 
> This chapter's a bit of a sappy one because I'm feeling sentimental with it being the end of the challenge and the end of the year. I hope you like it and here's hoping that 2016 is just as full of writing muses.

Danny settled back into the recliner, letting the din of the crowd wash over him as he got comfortable. Steve’s living room was packed with all of their friends, Kono and Adam, Chin and Abby, Lou and his family, even Max, Jerry, Kamekona, and Flippa had showed up for their little New Year’s Eve party. Grace and Charlie were at Rachel’s but Danny would have them for the whole weekend when they would celebrate with a BBQ on the beach.

“Bowing out already, Danno?” Steve asked, sitting down on the ottoman and handing Danny a beer to replace the one that he had just finished.

“Nah, just… taking it all in,” Danny said, accepting the beer and taking a drink, “Another year down huh?”

“Yeah, almost,” Steve agreed, leaning back so that he was resting half on the chair, half on Danny and looking around the room at all of their friends. Lou was arguing with Kamekona about proper grilling techniques, Chin and Abby were talking with Max and Jerry about some TV show that Danny’s never heard of while Kono, Adam, Flippa, and Renee were debating the finer points of conservation efforts on the North Shore.

After a second Steve stood back up, patting a hand on Danny’s knee and moving towards the dining room, calling everyone to dinner. Slowly everyone filtered into the room, finding a spot at the cramped table. By the time Danny got there, the only space left was at the head of the table across from Steve. When everyone’s plates were piled high and the dull roar had settled down into a comfortable murmur, Danny stood up, tapping his knife on his bottle to get everyone's attention.

“Hey, everybody,” Danny said and waited until he had the entire group's attention before continuing, “So, it’s the end of another year and I just wanted to say something before we all start eating. Some of you I haven’t known very long, and some of you I've known _too_ long,” he said and got a chuckle from everybody, “and I just want to say that every one of you has made my life better. When I got here, I was miserable. I didn’t have a family, I could count the number of friends I had here on one hand.... and then I met Steve, and we made this little rag-tag group.”

He looked around the table until his gaze finally rested on Steve, gazing back up at him with a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, “I know that I bitch about this place a lot, but I can honestly say that this is probably the happiest that I’ve ever been. So, at the risk of getting too sappy, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for saving me from the miserable existence that I resigned myself to, thank you for making my life here one that I am proud to have,” he paused to compose himself, catching Kono wipe a tear away even as she smiled back up at him, “So here’s to Ohana,” he finished, raising his glass and getting a round of ‘here, here’s’ in response.

\---

  
“That was quite the speech,” Steve said, finding Danny sitting out on the lanai. Dinner was long over and everyone else was still inside, watching the coverage of the celebrations happening around the world.

“Yeah, well, it needed saying,” he admitted, taking another pull from his beer and feeling lighter by the confession.

They fell into silence for a while, both of them content to watch the waves crash on the shore. Danny had just about finished his beer when Steve spoke again, “You saved me too you know.”

“How do you mean?” Danny asked, genuinely confused by Steve’s admission.

“You saw me when I first got back. The navy was all I had and all I knew was how to be a SEAL. I would rather go get shot at on a mission than risk coming here to an awkward family dinner... and then I met you,” Steve said with a small smile, “You taught me what it was like to have a family again, you and Gracie,” The crowd inside started counting down to midnight, interrupting Steve and saving him from pouring any more of his heart out. Danny spun in his seat to watch as their friends all stood around the TV, watching as the countdown ticked away.

“Danny,” Steve whispered and Danny turned to face him and reaching up to cup Danny’s cheek. Danny could feel his heart pounding as Steve leaned in and he shifted to close the distance between them and meet Steve halfway, kissing him just as cheering started to sound from the TV. When they finally broke apart, Steve had a dopey grin and Danny knew that he probably wasn’t looking too much better, “Happy New Year, Danno.”

“Happy New Year,” Danny repeated and pulled Steve in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Check me out on [Tumblr](http://www.erandri.tumblr.com)


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